Botham’s Century: My 100 great cricketing characters

by Ian Botham, Peter Hayter (Primary Contributor)

One hundred colourful portraits of the cricketing characters whom Ian Botham has come into contact with during his eventful career and who have influenced the game for good during this from top players, umpires and coaches to pop stars, writers and philanthropists. Among the cast of characters who feature in Botham’s own Who’s Who of cricket are many of the world’s top past and present players, cricketers such as Viv Richards, Brian Close, Shane Warne and Nasser Hussain. Umpire Dickie Bird and the late John Arlott also have a place in Beefy’s Hall of Fame. Others associated with cricket include Mick Jagger, Nelson Mandela and Nick Faldo; and many more who in Beefy’s opinion have been a positive influence in the game during his era. Witty, entertaining and controversial, these portraits have already incited a plethora of opinions from those both inside and outside the game. This paperback edition is sure to be another Botham bestseller.

Genres: Nonfiction

432 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

About the author

Sir Ian Terence Botham is a former England Test cricketer and captain, and current cricket commentator.

Reviews

[Rishi Prakash · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ian Botham is one of the greatest all rounder that cricket has ever seen so his pick of 100 different characters is an interesting read for sure. There are people from all form of life( Cricket, golf, Physio, Manager, Journalist and more) who had an impact on him to be "selected" in this elite list :-)

The book is full of lively anecdotes and interesting stories which i had never heard! Some of them are so hilarious that you will end up laughing loud! This is definitely a book for a cricket fan who will like to add more in his kit by going through these small escapades in Botham's life!

[W · Rating 3 out of 5]

Botham's outspoken,and often controversial opinions about a hundred people,mostly cricketers,including several Pakistanis.Full of lively anecdotes,an entertaining cricket book.

[Hamish · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Ian Botham explored a great list of tales from international cricket, and his mates across the globe. It is a humorous and insightful book into the lives of many great cricketing characters. The format of the book and the storytelling he uses make you feel like you're at a bar with 'Beefy' (Botham) and he is recounting all the great people he met throughout his career. All you can do is sit there entranced, listening and laughing until the early hours of the morning. I definitely recommend this book for anyone who knows anything about cricket and wants a good laugh. It shares many intriguing stories about the lives of some of the heroes from Botham's era and their sometimes odd habits as well as the triumphs they all shared. It shows that professional sports people look like heroes in their element on the field, but off it, they are people like you and me wanting to live life to the fullest.

[Parag Shah · Rating 5 out of 5]

very very entertaining.full of humor.

[Laurence Green · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, this isn't Kafka, Joyce or Jane Austen but it IS very readable and while Botham patential hasn't written this himself you CAN hear his voice - and it's interesting.