Ian Botham is an English former cricketer, broadcaster, charity fundraiser, and author. A leading all-rounder, he scored 5,200 Test runs, took 383 Test wickets, and made fourteen Test centuries during a fifteen-year England career. He became especially associated with the 1981 Ashes. His books include early accounts written while playing, later autobiographies, collections of cricket stories, and a comic novel written with Dennis Coath.
After retiring from professional cricket in 1993, Botham continued as a television commentator and public figure. He was knighted in 2007 for services to sport and charity and became a life peer in 2020. His 2026 memoir, Seasons: Riding the Torpedo, revisits his life around his seventieth birthday, considering relationships, leadership, setbacks, and the legacy of experiences that extended far beyond the cricket field.
Ian Botham Books
| Book | Year | Amazon |
|---|---|---|
| Ian Botham on Cricket | 1980 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| The incredible tests, 1981 | 1981 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Botham's choice | 1982 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Bedside Cricket | 1983 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Botham Down Under | 1983 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| High, Wide and Handsome (Willow Books) | 1986 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| It sort of clicks | 1986 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Cricket My Way | 1989 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Botham | 1994 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Deep cover | 1996 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Botham Report | 1998 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Bothams Century | 2002 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Head On | 2007 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Miracle Man | 2007 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| My sporting heroes | 2009 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Botham's Book of the Ashes | 2010 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Beefy's Cricket Tales | 2013 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
| Seasons | 2026 | Description / Buy at Amazon |
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Cricket Books
Ian Botham on Cricket: This early illustrated book presents Botham as an active England and Somerset cricketer, before the 1981 Ashes performances that later dominated accounts of his career. Published by Cassell with photographs by Geoff Bruce, it belongs to the first stage of his writing on the sport. The compact volume records his perspective during the development of his international reputation. Published in 1980.
The incredible tests, 1981: Botham revisits England’s 1981 Test summer, the campaign that became a defining part of his public career. The account concentrates on the series itself rather than the complete life covered by later autobiographies. Published soon after the matches, it offers a contemporary record of a cricketing season remembered for dramatic changes in England’s fortunes. Published in 1981.
Botham's choice: Botham and Kenneth Gregory assemble cricket entertainment in a short illustrated volume aimed at enthusiasts. Drawings by Haro accompany material presented for enjoyment away from the field, making this a different kind of publication from Botham’s later autobiographies and analyses of the game. Its lighthearted approach belongs to the early years of his wider public prominence. Published in 1982.
Bedside Cricket: Botham and Kenneth Gregory offer a compact cricket-reading volume published during Botham’s international playing career. The collaboration belongs to his early strand of lighter cricket books, alongside longer accounts of particular tours and later autobiographies. Its small illustrated format is intended for recreational reading by followers of the sport rather than serving as a complete career history. Published in 1983.
Botham Down Under: Botham recounts the 1982–83 England tour of Australia and the Test series contested there. The illustrated account returns to the Ashes from the perspective of a player involved in the campaign, following a different outcome and setting from the celebrated 1981 series at home. It documents a particular tour rather than attempting a complete autobiography. Published in 1983.
It sort of clicks: Ian Botham talking to Peter Roebuck.: Botham discusses his life and cricket with Somerset teammate Peter Roebuck. The conversational account uses reminiscence to explore the experiences and outlook of an all-rounder still in the midst of his career. Rather than a chronological tour report, it records exchanges between two players whose shared club background supplies familiarity with the setting and personalities being discussed. Published in 1986.
Cricket My Way: Botham explains his approach to cricket, emphasizing fitness, commitment, enjoyment, and a positive intention to win. Written with Jack Bannister, the book considers why attitude and preparation matter alongside natural ability. His own experience supplies the basis for discussing how he believes the game should be played and the responsibilities accompanying competitive ambition. First published in 1989.
Botham: my autobiography.: Botham recounts his life and playing career after retirement, revisiting England, county cricket, relationships, controversy, and the events behind his public image. The autobiography provides a longer retrospective than the tour accounts and conversations published while he was playing. His sporting achievements sit alongside the conflicts and personal experiences involved in becoming one of cricket’s most recognizable figures. Published in 1994.
Deep cover: Written with Dennis Coath, this comic novel follows an England cricket side drawn into an international smuggling conspiracy. The freedom with which touring teams cross borders becomes part of the plot, bringing fictional players and their captain into circumstances well beyond ordinary competition. Cricket supplies the setting for a humorous adventure rather than an account of Botham’s actual playing life. Published in 1996.
The Botham Report: The Way Forward for English Cricket: Botham and Peter Hayter review English cricket over the decade from 1987 to 1997, considering its condition and future direction. The book moves beyond an individual’s playing record to examine the wider game during a period of change and disappointment. Botham’s experience as a player and commentator informs a critical account intended to contribute to debate about improvement. First published in 1997.
Botham's Century: My 100 Great Cricketing Characters: Botham selects one hundred people who influenced cricket and his own experience of it. Players appear alongside umpires, broadcasters, writers, and figures from outside professional sport, including Viv Richards, Shane Warne, Dickie Bird, and John Arlott. The portraits combine recollection and opinion, explaining the qualities and contributions that earned each person a place in his personal cricketing selection. First published in 2001.
Head On: Ian Botham: The Autobiography: Botham revisits his life from childhood through international success, public controversy, and charity work. The autobiography addresses the 1981 Ashes, relationships within cricket, tabloid attention, and experiences away from playing. Written after his career had expanded into broadcasting and fundraising, it places sporting achievements within a broader account of fame, conflict, and the personal demands of public life. Published in 2007.
Botham's Book of the Ashes: A Lifetime Love Affair with Cricket's Greatest Rivalry: Botham follows his relationship with the Ashes from watching as a child through playing, captaincy, and commentary. The 1981 matches form a central part of the account, but earlier tours and the 2005 series broaden the perspective. Personal recollections explain how the England–Australia rivalry shaped his life and how his role within it changed over time. Published in 2010.
Beefy's Cricket Tales: My Favourite Stories from on and off the Field: Botham gathers stories from cricket with help from friends, teammates, opponents, and fellow commentators. Contributions involving figures such as Shane Warne and David Gower combine dressing-room memories with unusual events on and off the field. The collection favors anecdotes and humor over a continuous autobiography, presenting incidents from different careers within a shared cricketing world. Published in 2013.
Seasons: Riding the Torpedo: Botham reflects on his life around turning seventy, reconsidering relationships, rivalries, leadership, and the experiences behind his public reputation. The memoir explores both successes and reversals, following questions of belief, doubt, pain, and achievement across sporting and personal settings. Its later-life perspective returns to familiar events while giving greater attention to character, memory, and the legacy he hopes to leave. Published in 2026.
Multi-sport Books
My Sporting Heroes: Botham—His 50 Greatest from Britain and Ireland: Botham selects fifty sporting heroes from Britain and Ireland and considers what qualifies someone for that description. The book extends beyond cricket to examine achievement, character, resilience, and influence across different sports. His portraits offer personal assessments rather than a statistical ranking, explaining why particular competitors matter to him and how sporting excellence can create a lasting public reputation. Published in 2009.