Botham's about: Ahead of the Ashes, cricket legend Sir Ian takes a grand tour of Australia

Usually when I go to Australia it involves cricket, but this time the only nets we saw were the fishing variety. It was a boys' trip. My wife Kath, who has been Down Under several times, gallantly volunteered to mind the fort at home in Yorkshire while I enjoyed two weeks of high-adrenaline bonding with our son Liam.