Controversial, hard-hitting, and thought provoking. In The Botham Report, the man who for nearly two decades thrilled cricket fans all over the world, gives his forthright answer to the question: “What is wrong with English cricket?”
Botham is heavily critical of the TCCB and the way in which the England team regressed during years of mismanagement. He reviews events both at home on the county scene and abroad and, in his new role as technical advisor, he gives a firsthand account of the 1997 summer battle for the Ashes.
Looking ahead, Botham outlines his ten-point plan for the future structure of English cricket, involving major issues like the pay of county cricketers and a two-way tier county championship, and the reports on the results of a questionaire sent to the chairman, chief executive and captain of every county assessing what is wrong with the game in this country.
A new chapter for this paperback edition highlights the progress English cricket has made since Botham’s involvement, as reflected in the team’s performance on the 1997/98 winter tour to the West Indies.
Ian ‘Botham’ was the most thrilling sight in sport for nearly two decades at the top of international cricket. He retired from the game in 1993 and has since acted as coaching advisor to the England team on the 1997/98 Zimbabwe and New Zealand tour, a commentator for Sky TV, and he has a newspaper column in the Daily Mirror. He continues to be a keen analyser of the game.
Peter Hayter is the cricket correspondent of the ‘Mail on Sunday’. He collaborated with Ian Botham in writing his bestselling autobiography and, most recently, ‘The Botham Report’.