Tony Becca, Contributor
IAN 'BEEFY' Botham, now Sir Ian and one of the greatest all-round cricketers of all time, was one of the game's greatest personalities. In fact, to many, and especially so the gentlemen at Lord's, he was a law on to himself.
My memory of him, with bat in hand, with ball in hand, was like a pirate sailing the Caribbean seas and standing on deck with his broadsword in hand and ready to fight.
As a batsman, Botham was a destroyer and as a bowler he was a warrior, a pace bowler, who never gave up. The big man from Somerset, however, was also and still is an explosive speaker, one who tells it as he sees it, and with no exception.
In his recent book, Botham: Head on - The Autobiography, Botham, for example, lambasted the England team for their performances following the Ashes victory of 2005 and he did so without holding anything back.
"I think that some players lived off the back of the 2005 Ashes for a while, but I don't blame just them. The establishment went over the top; the management went over the top. It was farcical in Australia last winter. The England team had security outriders and there's Shane Warne driving the Aussies around in a minibus."
And what is Botham's view on sports psychology?
"Sports psychology, what's that all about? It's the biggest con of all time, people making a lot of money talking rubbish."
As far as Botham is concerned, the greatest team of all time is not Don Bradman's team of 1948, and it definitely is not the present Australian team.
As far as the former England captain is concerned, the greatest team of all time is the West Indies side under Lloyd.
Finally, who, in Botham's opinion, is the greatest batman of all time?
Great for each other
According to the all-rounder who scored 5,200 runs with 14 centuries in 102 Test matches at an average of 33.54 and who took 383 wickets at an average of 28.44, the greatest batsman of all time is his teammate at Somerset and his good pal 'Smoking Joe' Viv Richards.
"Viv and I were great for each other," said Botham, "and I regard him as the best batsman who ever played cricket. Bradman got all the records but I wonder if Bradman could have adjusted to 20, 40, 50-over cricket as well as Test matches.
"When you look at the footage from the 1930s, there's no science about the field placings. They were the same when the batsman arrived at the crease as they were when he'd scored 300. Obviously, Bradman was an exceptional talent but I find it hard to comprehend anyone ever being better than Viv."
One Saturday evening at Old Trafford, back in 1980, I saw the West Indies batting after rain, I saw Greenidge (0), Haynes (one), Faoud Bacchus (0), and Alvin Kallicharran (13) batting like novices against Bob Willis, Graham Dilley and Botham. I saw Richards (65) come out, bat like a master, like he was in the nets, and I wondered if I was watching the greatest batsman who ever lived.
I then remembered Sir Garfield Sobers, however, and apart from his figures, which in every respect are better than Richards', I remembered how good he was against every type of bowler and on all kinds of pitches.
I remembered him against England and John Snow and company at Sabina Park in 1968 when, after the West Indies were forced to follow on, he scored 113 not out on what was one of the worst, if not the worst pitch, I have seen in a Test match.
I also remembered Bradman, an I never saw him in action, I could neither forget nor ignore his record.
Bradman's figures
As someone once wrote, Bradman's figures cannot speak, you cannot hear them; they exit, a monument of bronze.
In comparison to Richards' 8,540 runs from 121 Test matches, 24 centuries with a top score of 291, and an average of 50.23, Sobers scored 8,032 runs from 93 Test matches at an average of 57.78 and scored 26 centuries.
In 52 Test matches, Bradman scored 6,996 runs with 29 centuries and a top score of 334, and apart from a near-perfect average of 99.94, while Richards scored three double centuries without ever scoring a triple, while Sobers scored only two double centuries and one triple - a world record 365 not out, the little Australian, batting much fewer times than both West Indians, and on uncovered pitches at that, scored 12 double centuries, two triple centuries and was once not out on 299.
Richards was great, Sobers was great, and so too was Brian Lara, who ended his illustrious career with 11,912 runs with 34 centuries, a top score of 400 not out, and an average of 53.17 after playing 130 Test matches.
With due respect to Botham, however, and to the fans of Richards, Sobers and Lara, Bradman, if for nothing else but his amazing record, must be the greatest batsman who ever lived.
