Liam Botham

Liam James Botham (born 26 August 1977) is an English former professional sportsman who played both codes of rugby football and cricket. He is the son of former England cricketer Ian Botham.

Liam Botham

Personal information
Full name	Liam James Botham
Born	(1977-08-26) 26 August 1977 (age 47) Doncaster, South Yorkshire, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Weight	15 st 0 lb (95 kg)
Playing information
Rugby union
Position	Wing
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 1996–1997 West Hartlepool 14 15 1997–2000 Cardiff RFC 29 120 2000–2003 Newcastle Falcons 74 111 2003–2004 Leeds Tykes 19 10 Total 136 0 0 0 256 Representative Years Team Pld T G FG P 1997–1998 England U21
Rugby league
Position	Second-row
Club Years Team Pld T G FG P 2003–2005 Leeds Rhinos 15 4 0 0 16 2004 → London Broncos (loan) 8 3 7 0 26 2005 Wigan Warriors 5 0 0 0 0 Total 28 7 7 0 42
Personal information
Batting	Right-handed
Bowling	Right-arm medium-fast
Relations	Ian Botham (father) James Botham (son)
Domestic team information
Years	Team
1996	Hampshire
Career statistics
Competition FC LA Matches 3 1 Runs scored 31 1 Batting average 10.33 1.00 100s/50s 0/0 0/0 Top score 30 1 Balls bowled 330 24 Wickets 8 0 Bowling average 33.50 – 5 wickets in innings 1 – 10 wickets in match 0 – Best bowling 5/67 – Catches/stumpings 2/– 0/–
Source: ESPNcricinfo, 7 July 2021

Career

Cricket

Botham was born in Doncaster and initially followed in his father's footsteps, playing county cricket for Hampshire. He played three matches in the 1996 season.^[1] He took the wicket of former England captain Mike Gatting on his County Championship debut.

After retiring from rugby, there were signs that Botham might return to playing competitive cricket; in 2006, he played in an England XI victory against Lancashire in a testimonial match for Andrew Flintoff at Old Trafford.

Rugby union

Botham left cricket in 1997 after one senior season and signed for rugby union club West Hartlepool, where he played as a wing or fullback. He later moved to Cardiff and Newcastle Falcons.

While at Newcastle the club won the 2001 Tetley Bitter Cup, in the final of which he was a replacement,^[2] and reached the final of the European Shield.

Botham made his début for the England under-21 team in 1997 against France, and then played in the SANZAR tournament in South Africa in 1998.^[3] He was called up to the senior England squad by Clive Woodward for their 2000 tour of South Africa.^[4] He played in tour matches against the Leopards and Griqualand West^[5][6] but never won a senior international cap.

Rugby league

After becoming disillusioned with rugby union, he switched sports again in 2003 to rugby league. He initially joined the Bradford Bulls and had a short spell playing for their academy team. He then signed a dual-code contract with Super League club Leeds Rhinos, who felt that signing the inexperienced Botham was less of a risk as he also played for their partner rugby union club Leeds Tykes.

In 2004, Botham also played for London Broncos on loan, and in 2005 signed for Wigan Warriors, feeling he could not get a regular place in the Rhinos team. In his three seasons in rugby league, usually as a second-row, he played 28 senior games, scoring 7 tries and 6 goals.^[7]

In 2005, Botham announced his retirement aged 27 after a neck injury.

Post-playing career

Since retiring, Botham has run a sports travel company.^[8]

Personal life

Botham married Sarah-Jayne, with whom he has three children. Their son James plays rugby union for Cardiff Blues and made his full international debut for Wales in 2020.

The couple later divorced and Botham married Lisa Harrison in 2013. She gave birth to their son Benji in July 2015.^[9]

References

1. "Liam Botham". CricketArchive. Retrieved 7 July 2021.
2. "Newcastle snatch Cup glory". BBC. 24 February 2001. Retrieved 26 December 2009.
3. "Rugby Union: Botham in swing on the wing". The Independent. 22 November 1998. Retrieved 9 November 2022.
4. "Johnson reclaims England captaincy". BBC Sport. British Broadcasting Corporation. 7 June 2000. Retrieved 9 February 2016.
5. "BBC News | RUGBY UNION | England tame Leopards". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
6. "BBC News | RUGBY UNION | Rampant England smash Griquas". news.bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 4 June 2021.
7. Rugby League Project
8. "Liam Botham avoids driving ban after legal mix-up". Yorkshire Post. 18 February 2017. Retrieved 21 June 2024.
9. Lisa Harrison and Liam Botham bowled over by birth of baby son, Belfast Telegraph

External links

• Liam Botham at ESPNcricinfo
• Liam Botham at ESPNscrum