Ian Botham, who was a great cricket player for England, sold more than 200 mementos from his career at a sale in London.
Some of the most valuable things were from his famous part in England’s 1981 Ashes victory.
The ball he used to get five Australia wickets for one run as England came from behind to win the fourth Test of that series at Edgbaston sold for £20,000 ($26,000 or 23,000 euros).
And a stump from the previous match that said “Headingley 81” was sold for £11,000. Botham took it as a gift after his amazing 149 not out helped England win after they were told to follow on.
His man-of-the-match medal from Headingley sold for £19,000, which was more than double the pre-sale estimate. Botham took six wickets in Australia’s first test and then scored 50 runs.
Even so, the most expensive thing at the sale, which was held at The Oval, had nothing to do with cricket.
A shirt Sammy McIlroy wore when Manchester United played Liverpool in the Charity Shield at Wembley in 1977 and later gave to Ian Botham sold for £23,000, which is more than seven times the original estimate of £3,000.
During his 15-year Test run from 1977 to 1992, Botham, who is now 67, was one of the best all-rounders in cricket history.
In 102 games, he got more than 5,000 runs, including 14 hundreds, and as a fast-medium bowler, he took 383 wickets, which was an England record at the time. He also had 120 catches, many of which were great slip catches.
In 1981, he changed the course of the England-Australia Test series. Botham stepped down as captain of England after his team lost at Nottingham and tied at Lord’s. In both games, he was out for nothing and his team lost.
Then, he did great things at Headingley and Edgbaston. Then, Botham’s 118, which was made up of 13 fours and six sixes, led England to a win at Old Trafford that ended the series.
Botham was known for raising money for cancer causes, and after he retired from cricket, he became a well-known cricket commentator and newspaper writer.
Botham was already a knight when Prime Minister Boris Johnson put him in the House of Lords in the UK government in 2020. Johnson did this because Botham had supported Britain leaving the European Union.