Ian Botham Is Backed As Selector (03 Apr 1996)

Botham is backed as selector

By Neil Hallam (from the Daily Telegraph, 3rd April 1996)

LORD`S yesterday took delivery of a potentially explosive missive when Derbyshire sent in their nomination forIan Botham, the fiercest critic of Ray Illingworth, to stand as one of his England selectors.

The former England all-rounder and captain has repeatedly scoffed at the management of the Test side since Illingworth took control, saving some of his most withering observations for an audience of millions on BBC television`s Question of Sport programme.

The nomination could attract support around the counties and certainly represents a setback for the chairman`s hopes of gathering his old allies Fred Titmus and Brian Bolus around him on the selection panel.

Derbyshire`s action may also prompt winces among the hierarchy at Lord`s, who must have thought they had been spared an awkward contest when David Graveney withdrew from a poll for the chairmanship of selectors and left Illingworth unapposed last month.

Now an even less propitious confrontation is in prospect and Illingworth could find himself forced into an uneasy alliance with Graveney and Botham in the unlikely event of them topping a poll for which nominations close today.

It is just conceivable that such an outcome might persuade the beleaguered Illingworth to reconsider his own position, but Derbyshire are unrepentent about creating a potentially embarrassing prospect.

"It isn`t up to us to work out who likes who and who doesn`t," the Derbyshire secretary, Reg Taylor, said. "Our brief is to come up with people we believe will make the most positive and effective contribution and the Derbyshire committee is firmly of the opinion that this points straight to Ian Botham.

"It was originally decided to nominate him for the job of chairman in opposition to Ray Illingworth but to do so we needed his permission and this was not possible to obtain because he was abroad. Now we have spoken to him, he`s told us he`d be delighted to serve as a selector."

Source :: Electronic Telegraph (https://www.telegraph.co.uk)