The ball Ian Botham used to take five wickets for one run in a lethal spell that inspired England to victory in the 1981 test at Edgbaston, £20,000 at Knights.
The sale was conducted by Knights (20% buyer’s premium) of Norwich in the long room at The Kia Oval, Surrey’s home ground.
The famous all-rounder parted with over 240 items including those relating to ‘Botham’s Ashes’, the 1981 series when his heroics with bat and ball made him a household name.
The stump ‘Beefy’ ripped out of the ground after the miraculous win at Headingley (at one point in the game an England win was quoted at 500-1) came for sale with a guide of £12,000-15,000 along with the ball he used to take five wickets for one run in a lethal spell that inspired England to victory in the next test at Edgbaston (estimate £15,000-20,000).
Stump that Ian Botham ripped out of the ground after the miraculous win at Headingley, £11,000 at Knights.
The Duncan Fearnley stump, which has been marked in ink Headingley 81 by Botham, took £11,000 and the Edgbaston cherry £20,000.
His man-of-the match medal from Headingley went at £19,000, more than double the estimate.
Long career
England top worn by Botham in the 1992 World Cup in Australia, £11,000 at Knights.
Botham joined Somerset County Cricket Club aged 13 and made his senior debut at 17. Between 1977 and 1992 he played in 102 test matches, scoring 5200 runs including 14 hundreds and taking 383 wickets.
He retired following the 1992 World Cup in Australia. The England blue one-day top he wore for his swansong (England lost to Pakistan in the final) was estimated at £600-900 but was competed to £11,000.
The sale came as England were facing Australia once more in the 2023 Ashes series - their hopes dashed by the Manchester rain.
