My Autobiography: Don't Tell Kath

Customer Reviews

• An honest account from a Cricketing Legend
  <br />I recently read "Botham: My Autobiography" and wish to demarcate a few vital points for all reviewers wanting to buy the book for personal perusal; keeping in mind the following two important points: <br /> <br />1) Ian Botham is definitely one of my all time favorite cricketing icons, but I write this account without taking into consideration this and other related personal biases (as this account shows). <br /> <br />2) I personally consider Ian Botham as one of the finest all-rounders in the history of cricket; along with Sir Sobers, Imran, Kapil and Sir Hadlee. <br /> <br />The most important point of the book is absolutely honesty. All readers agreeing or disagreeing with Botham's life-style, his attitude on and off the field and so on however cannot refuse to acknowledge the fact that nearly all sections of the book has been written with absolute honesty. Where Botham did commit a mistake or a series of mistakes, he mentions that he said something blatantly, or did what was reported instead of either denying it simply (as most modern-day icons choose to do) or not agreeing with the matter. <br /> <br />His early career, life-long friendship with King Viv and his cricketing days are all described in superb finesse. The legal dispute of Botham-Lamb against Imran Khan is also delineated in great detail. One of the sections which I read and re-read for a few times is where Botham illustrates the happenings of the 1992 World Cup final against Pakistan where Wasim Akram's over (in his second-spell) (producing Allan Lamb and Chris Lewis' wickets in two successive deliveries which sealed the fate of England in the finals); I consider this section to be a bit "blown out of proportions". I wouldn't call it an "untrue" or "dishonest" account (because: 1) Pakistani fast-bowlers and swing bowlers have the tendency of picking the seam for movements and 2) As final footage shows, the ball was moving way too much all the time in the 2nd spell), but my greatest objection lies in the manner Botham describes the whole affair. After reading this section, a reader who has not happened to follow the 1992 World Cup Final closely will resort thinking that Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup simply owing to ball tampering and thereby producing the deadly reverse swing. As is evident from the videos of the Final (which can be bought online from any major vendor), Akram was swinging the ball from the very first delivery, and Akram's over (producing Lamb and Lewis' wickets) is considered by many experts as one of the best ever over bowled in ODI history. One can swing a lot by tampering with the seam, but to know how and where to pitch it with the seam upright is a talent from within. Especially Lewis' delivery (which I watched a million times over and over again clearly shows that the ball when hit the ground was seaming in, and Akram pitched it well outside off-stump with the rough side (as seen in the videos) being on the inner side. So, Akram definitely knew or had a faint idea that after hitting the seam the ball with do a reverse and dip in. Guessing this is not everyone's cup of tea). Botham does not mention any of this, but simply blatantly calls the Lewis' delivery a "banana" delivery (and one of the strangest deliveries he had ever seen in his career) thereby concluding that Akram won Pakistan the World Cup because of reverse swinging the ball at wrong time (Botham's exact words are: "The delivery came out of the blue") which Akram did only by picking at the seam. This I found a bit offensive in terms of description of events and a few other statements related to this matter leaving aside the fact that Akram is considered by many as one of the greatest swing bowlers in both versions of International cricket (Test/ODI). <br /> <br />Other than this above-mentioned matter, nearly everything else mentioned within is of superb quality, written in great style and in detail. Whether Botham was right or wrong in mentioning that Pakistan won the 1992 World Cup only by resorting to ball tampering under the auspices of the legendary Imran Khan; is a highly debatable issue. Leaving that out of frame, this is an excellent account of the one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game. If you're a cricket enthusiast, or a cricket player or just looking for a good read for a vacation ahead; pick this up. It's highly recommended without any reservations whatsoever. 5 stars overall!!! <br /> <br />Subhasish Ghosh <br /> <br />St. Cross College, <br />University of Oxford <br />31st March 2006