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Sir Ian Terence Botham, OBE (born 24 November 1955) is a former England Cricket  all-rounder. Popular by his nickname "Beefy" due to his bulldog approach to the sport, Botham was also a talented Footballer early in his life. He played football for a club Scunthorpe United in March 1980, where he played as a centre half and made 11 appearances in the Football League. 

While a controversial player both on and off the field at times, Botham is arguably the most inspirational figure produced by English cricket. An aggressive fast-medium bowler who had the ability to swing the ball through the air, Botham was also an attacking batsman with hook shot as his trademark.On 8 August 2009, Botham was inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame. 

Botham made his Test debut for England on 28 July 1977 in the Third Test against Australia. During a 15-year Test career he played 102 matches, took 383 wickets at an average of 28.40 & scored 5,200 runs at an average of 33.54. He had also got safe pair of hands at slip and took 120 catches. However, his all-round talents began to wane after the 1985-86 Test series against the West Indies as injuries relentlessly took their toll. He was also England's captain for 12 Tests between 1980 and 1981. As captain Botham was generally considered to have been unsuccessful. Under his captaincy the team achieved no wins, 8 draws and 4 losses. 
Botham's first 202 wickets came at 21.20 per wicket, while his final 181 cost on average 36.43 apiece. This difference can be largely attributed to a back injury which limited Botham's bowling pace and his ability to swing the ball.

Botham's batting - although never the equal of his bowling abilities - declined as well, with a batting average of 38.80 for his first 51 Tests substantially higher than the 28.87 he managed in his last 51 Tests.
Despite the obvious decline in his form, Botham retained his reputation of playing to extremes and so, if he played well, he could seem to win a match on his own. Botham holds a number of Test records as an all-rounder, including being the fastest (in terms of matches) to achieve the "doubles" of 1,000 runs and 100 wickets, 2,000 runs and 200 wickets, and 3,000 runs and 300 wickets. He still holds the record for the highest number of Test wickets taken by an England player (383).Botham scored a century and took 5 wickets in an innings in the same Test match on 5 occasions; no-one else has managed this feat more than twice. 

Botham's ODI career included 116 games from 1976 to 1992. He made his debut on August 26 against the West Indies at Scarborough. He finished with a batting average of 23.21 (nine 50s, no 100s, cumulative score of 2113 runs), and a bowling average of 28.5 (strike rate 43.24, 145 wickets in total, best figures 4/31).In the 3rd test of 1981 Ashes, Botahm’s match winning knock of 149 was rated by the wisden as the as the 4th best of all time. Also Botham was named man of the series, scoring 399 runs and taking 34 wickets. The Ashes was named as the 'Botham's' Ashes.

He is the only man to have made a century and take 8 wickets in an innings in the same Test match, 108 and 8/34 against Pakistan at Lord's in 1978. Botham was also the first of only two men to make a century and take 10 wickets in the same Test match, the other being Imran Khan.

Often controversial, Botham was suspended briefly in 1986 for smoking cannabis and was accused of racism and ball-tampering by Imran Khan. Botham was also sacked from the Queensland team after being arrested for assault of a fellow airline passenger.He also fell out publicly with other players, including Australian batsman Ian Chappell, England opener Geoff Boycott and Somerset captain Peter Roebuck. His private life has also made occasional dramatic appearances in Britain's tabloid newspapers, with at least one extramarital affair prompting a public apology to his wife Kathy. He also played for Durham, Somerset and Worcestershire, as well as a season (1987-88) in Australia playing for Queensland.

In addition to his work as a member of the Laureus World Sports Academy, Botham has been a tireless worker for charity undertaking a total of 11 long-distance charity walks. His first, in 1985, was a 900-mile trek from John o' Groats to Land's End.to raise money for Leukaemia research. In 2003,he was made the First ever President of Leukaemia Research, the UK's leading blood cancer charity.

 
Following the 2004 Tsunami Disaster, Botham visited the devastated Galle area of Sri Lanka and played a key role in the establishment of a Laureus Sport for Good project there to aid the rebuilding of the shattered community.In 2008, Botham was awarded an honorary doctorate in Sports Science by Leeds Metropolitan University & an honorary degree with the title Doctor of Laws from the University of Bath. In 1992, Botham was appointed an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE) for services to cricket and for his charity work in the Queen's Birthday Honours. In 2004, BBC Sports Personality of the Year Lifetime Achievement Award. In 1978, he was elected as one of Wisden's Five Cricketers of the Year. 

In 1976, Botham married Kathryn Waller. After their marriage they lived until the late 1980s and has two daughters Becky and Sarah, and a son Liam.