Botham's Book of the Ashes

Oct 5, 2024 6:45 PM

Author:Ian Botham

Sir Ian Botham and the Ashes are as closely intertwined as willow and leather or Merv Hughes and his moustache. You simply cannot think of one without the other. In this book, Sir Ian takes you on a ride through a lifetime's relationship with cricket's oldest and most treasured prize, revealing just how it has shaped his life and how he has helped to turn it into the contest it is today.

From the moment he first watched the likes of Ken Barrington stride to the wicket in jaw-jutting defiance to the day he flayed Australia's bowling attack around Headingley as if playing with his mates in the park, and then onwards to his role in commentating on what was arguably the finest series of the lot, in 2005, Sir Ian has a rich and varied connection with the Ashes, and he tells all here.

The Ashes is a series that has provided incredible highs and heartbreaking lows for English and Australian fans alike over the past 35 years. Sir Ian has often been at the centre of the roller-coaster ride. Whether it is his account of his days as England's dogsbody in 1977 in Melbourne or the story of his refusal to let Bob Willis bowl downwind until he was angry enough to skittle the Aussies in 1981, all is revealed in depth in Botham's Book of the Ashes.

Reviews

The best books about sport are, of course, about more than just sport and Out of the Ashes fits perfectly into this genre.

—— Mike Atherton

A terrific and heart-warming story, a sort of Kiterunner in batting gloves. This story of Taj Malik and his intrepid Afghan team-mates makes you feel that with luck, everything might turn out all right after all...

—— Michael Simkin

You don't need to be a cricketer to find this story inspirational.

—— Ed Smith, writer and former international cricketer

A true story that reads like a fairy tale, this is one of the most intelligent and compelling cricket books I have read in a long time.

—— Andy Bull, Guardian cricket writer

Taj Malik and his team prove that the passion for cricket can survive anything. Tim Albone's labour of love is the tribute they deserve.

—— Gideon Haigh

An astounding story

—— The Independent

A remarkable story

—— Sport

A grimly compelling account

—— The Observer

Jones has unearthed and told quite brilliantly the tragic story of a man condemned not only be authority but also by his own stubbornness

—— Sunday Times

Moving

—— Sunday Express

Made me chuckle

—— Mark Cavendish

Hilarious behind-the-scenes anecdotes

—— Glasgow Herald

An irreverent and funny take on cycling’s biggest race from a man who has seen it up close every year since 2003

—— Lesley McDowell , Glasgow Herald

I found his behind-the-scenes look at the famous race both highly amusing and telling in equal measure

—— Johann Lamont , Scotland on Sunday

Cycling at its best is fiercely cosmopolitan and internationalist, Boulting provides the kind of commentary the sport deserves, and will need if it is to fulfil its undoubted potential to reach out and grow

—— Mark Perryman , The Huffington Post

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