Ian Botham 149 Not Out 1981 3rd Test Headingly

[jagdpanther1944]

also, fair play on the Picca comments....it was Dilley that started to counter-attack by flailing his bat (as Both said once, Dilley didn't know which end of the bat to pick up)

RIP Graham

[jagdpanther1944]

watch henry Lawson bowling beamers...bastard!

[playthatgeetar]

One of my three sporting heroes, the other two being Steve Ovett and Alex Higgins. And all for the same reason - they didn't give a CRAP.

[playthatgeetar]

What gets me is how classic the strokes were. Beautiful strokeplay. WHAT a player!!

[eggsarah]

While Botham is sometimes a bit of a pain - he has always said that alot of the way he played in this match was due to Graham Dilley and maintains that Dilley was never given enough credit for his performance.

[ianwilson2007]

r.i.p. Graham Dilley...

[inglespatagonico]

I'm sure beefy won't mind me hijacking a tribute to him in order to say: RIP Graham Dilley, a true childhood hero.

[anthonyhollis100]

I remember Botham's innings as if it was yesterday. And the fact that Graham Dilley, whose sad death was announced today. was at the other end and playing his finest innings for England too.

For those who argue about Botham I hope for their sake they were old enough to see him in his pomp. From ace fast bowler at the beginning to our greatest all-rounder. Legend? I know he inspired the country at the time. When you are the best other words are superfluous.

RIP Graham Dilley.

[MrScoop77]

RIP Graham Dilley at the opposite end for most of this innings, as important a knock as Botham's.

[mannyposh]

village green batting :)

[stonersid]

@mannyposh the bowling cant have been up to much on a village green

[MrKami1981]

overated never a legend!!! .best english players....gooch.boycott.laker­.collingwood.w.g grace. but never THIS BEEFEATER!!!! done more for charity then cricket this is why he gets the upmost respect from me but cricket nah leave it out mate!!!

[fungboy3]

@MrKami1981 On what basis is Botham overrated ?

First player to 300 test wickets and 5000 test runs and still the leading genuine all rounder. At one time the leading test wicket taker for a while. Still England's leading wicket taker and most probably the greatest England all rounder for a long time...no England player has come close to him and plenty have failed to . In England's best XI he would make the All ROunder spot ahead of Freddie Flintoff

[davidgbarron]

@YoungTwistah I also think that this innings is remembered like the 2005 series in that millions could watch it on free-to-air TV, and that it became a talking point not just in the Sports pages.

[capricious71]

Dennis Lillee clicked dislike.

[capricious71]

This was the first cricket I ever saw. Amazing stuff.

England had some great players in that team but obviously Botham was the star.

[MrTom07]

Rich Pyrah's pulled a good imitation off at the Roses match today, nice way to celebrate the anniversary.

[merseymained]

@9MikeB- Fantastic. Your memory of being there is so special - and rightly so. I was a schoolboy too. I'll watch this video later, cos i'm watching BBC 2's documentary right now. I know you will be too. Nice one feller :-)

[9MikeB]

Tuesday morning, school holidays, and reduced prices to Headingly - we were so happy that our Mum got our Dad (cricket mad) to take me and my brother to watch the final day of the test match. Set up by Beefy on Monday, the Tuesday bowling performance was incredible, the tension built and built and when the final Aussie went down I just sprinted on to the pitch cheering my heroes.... I have never seen a cricket match like that since. Amazing.

[Teesside88]

2:55 Prudential Ass.

[tommyboy9101]

'What a triumph for him it would be if he could still be batting at 6 O'Clock this evening.' Little did they know.

[tommyboy9101]

What a triumph for him it would be if he could still be batting at 6 O'Clock this evening. Little did they know.

[narendrahshah]

It was Beefy Botham Vs. Australia. Once relieved from Captaincy, he totally got transformed in to a Mad Bull

[netdudeuk]

I wrote the software used for the scoreboard during that test match. I was only eighteen at the time and got lucky finding such an interesting job.

I spend the entire five days with the English and Australian scorekeepers and on the last day, picked up a full set of Aussie team autographs (bar their doctor) on the official sheet. I wonder what it would it would be worth today?

I also wrote similar software for the rugby scoreboard that was installed at the opposite side of the stadium.

[covingtonium]

holy christ was this video anticlimactic.  zzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

[DoctorScrumpy]

The greatest sportsman of his generation, and probably the greatest English sportsman of the 20th century.

[greenroadster]

@DoctorScrumpy Hard to disagree old son.

[capricious71]

This was the first cricket I ever saw. Botham was awesome. In fact, they were a great team.

I always wanted a Duncan Fearnley bat after this. :)

[alfriendo2008]

Greatest living Englishman alive!

[Barciad]

No description available - no description needed.

[alipali56]

Amazing inings, he likes to lean back when he players a shot :)



[councilglasses]

Why did this lead to shreaded wheat

[elgruga]

Once in a lifetime - we still talk about Ian Botham, the cricket hero of the Age.

There is/was no better.

[fletcher70]

if you look at the crowd....not much off one,because england were expected to get finished off quite early by the aussies.and win the ashes that day....thats when beefy turned up with 147 to give england something to bowl at.the rest is history and still the most amazing series of all time

[kirkbyla]

@fletcher70 hi mate i dont follow cricket but remember if it was like this i would ,was there a back story to this that the powers that be put shit on botham and didnt really want to play him i would love to know the stort ta

[andymh16]

dajazdj1....with all due respect I have been a very big fan of Freddie's....a class cricketer and one of England's finest BUT he was never in the same class as Ian Terence Botham at international or at county level. The records speak for themselves. Beefy was so much more than a slogger but if that is how you wish to see him then you display a real lack of knowledge and understanding of the game and you probably never saw him play.

[madbob73]

@Dajazdj1, firstly learn how to type without sounding like a spacker, and secondly Beefy scored 3 times as many hundreds as Fred. You're right in one respect, Botham himself says of this innings he was just hitting out and got lucky. In contrast, his ton at Old Trafford the same year was one of the best ever seen

[DAJAZDJ1]

HE LOOKS A REALLY SCRUFFY PLAYER HERE MAINLY JUSTA SLOGGER FREDIIE FLINTOFF HAD MORE CLASS AS A BATSMEN AND COULD OF BEEN AS GOOD IF NOT BETTER THAN BEEF BUT BECAUSE OF INJURIES AND OTHER THINGS HE NEVER DID WHAT WAS WRITTEN FOR HIM

[Alexlance1997]

@DAJAZDJ1 hehehe bullshit. Freddie was very good but this stuff that he could have been a real scruff player? I love Freddie Flintof and the way he plays cricket but Bothem is seriously an absoulte diffrent class. Flintof was a bit of a slogger himself and seeing as freddie flintof got fivers on his last matches I dont think injurys had anything to do with it

[DAJAZDJ1]

BET HE A SIK HE NEVER GOT 150

[patrick180271]

I recall,just as the video ends,Richie Benaud commentating says words to the effect of ,'The Australians will not want Ian Botham to stick around much longer -and If Ian Botham does stick around too much longer,we might just begin to wonder what the English bowlers might do on this pitch tomorrow'-could anyone confirm,please?

[davidgbarron]

@patrick180271 Richie Benaud was so perspective in that, but what he stated was to paraphrase "that Mike Brearley wants him to stock around, and who knows if they stick around much longer, who knows what the English bowlers will do on this pitch"

[bestyboi90]

great line before he started his innings, "c'mon lets give it some humpty" classic :)

[marxistsoldier]

The batsmen of this era would have their inflated averaged cut down if they played against the likes of Lille, Thompson, Marshall, Holding, Hadlee etc. You haven't got a clue.

[AtollK1950]

One of the all time great sporting commentary moments:

"Don't bother looking for that, let alone chasing it."

Botham and Benaud - two legends of the game.

[morphybum]

the crowd grows as the innings does

[losers638]

wat an ashes dat was!!i think the boundaries wer bigger that time..wasnt it??

[ImpatientLime]

nevar forget!

[haasxaar]

great commentary moment at 4.04

[bongo155]

Would have liked to see the remaining runs but nice video.

[usmangani71]

@YoungTwistah It is very easy to say the comment is stupid but it takes sme efforts and research to prove the comment to be stupid :) I wish you had given names of bowlers in this era who can consistently bowl 140+ :)

I did mention some technical aspect of the game which is obviously beyond your comprehension skills :) ...Talk to my your wall rather than commenting on such clips if you have nothing to support your words.

[stevey396]

Only if you have Sky I suppose. Test Match cricket was always on the BBC and Laker and Bebaun were great commentators.

[stevey396]

I watched all of this and it was great but don't forget Graham Dilley played out of his skin to keep with beefy.

[usmangani71]

@YoungTwistah tel me hw many bwlers of this age can consistenly bowl at an avg of 140+ ? n yet hw many batsmen do u knw who face these medium paced bowlers wthout helmet and arm guards or chest guards, n luk at Botham, no chest guard no arm guard no helmet, (mind u d pitch is uncovered n today d pitches r covered whch makes it predictable n even bounce cn b xpected al day, also m sure u wud agree tht battin is mde easy (limit on bouncers n easy pitches) these days so tht it attracts business,

[morphybum]

@usmangani71

what do you have against vowels?

[marxistsoldier]

You are right, averages are inflated by much easier conditions for batsmen but lots of bowlers average 140's.

[usmangani71]

@YoungTwistah Pedro, is abslutly rt, it is obvious u dont knw d technicalities bout d game n u dnt knw who Botham is :) in ths clip he is facin bwlers like Lillee, Geoff Lawson and Alderman, FYI lillee ws known to bowl at an avg 140 plus all day, its jst tht d camera techique ws nt advanced, also consdr d fact tht these batsmen wer greats n they mke battin look easy, d bowlers wer devastating n especialy lillee ws knwn2injure batsmen wth his bouncers n luk at ths dare devil wthout helmet, cont..

[PedroH35]

@YoungTwistah That is the most stupid comment i have ever read on YT. The bowlers in those days were just as fast and accurate as today. Check out Lillie and Holding for example.

[Infrontcat]

I can remember watching this aged 11 years old. After watching it, my mum even allowed me to sit up and watch the highlights the same night. And, of course, did the very same thing the next day :)

He immediately became, and has remained, my all-time hero ever since.

[klnine]

@Infrontcat I had an American colleague that converted to cricket from Baseball after seeing this !!!!!!

[Hunros]

bring back boatham lol

[Imrankniazi]

@Hunros He's there in the commentary box now!

[askbaby]

goose pimples... is he too old to play in the 2nd test (LOL)