When Botham got on a roll he was unstoppable, but there were also 17 instances in these matches when he bowled 15 or more overs and finished with one wicket or none. Fortunately, the experiment with captaincy lasted only 12 Tests, and as soon as those shackles were removed Botham came up with his most memorable Test match display against Australia at Headingley. Gooch and Gower, on the other hand, averaged about 10 Tests per century, while Chris Tavare did even worse, scoring only one hundred in 21 matches during this period. For specialist spinners, it is likely to be above 1.
Bowling at little more than medium pace, and at a time when his Test fortunes were dwindling, Botham varied his speed and movement so cleverly that he picked up 16 wickets in 10 games and was instrumental in guiding England to the final. Imran and Hadlee had better bowling averages, but neither matched Botham as a batsman (though Imran's best as a batsman was to come later).
His batting, especially, was a bit of a letdown, since he averaged only 23.21 from 106 innings, with a highest score of 79. While this may lead to the spinner Dom Bess making way for an extra seamer, with Sam Curran and Chris Woakes perhaps vying for the No 8 spot, it looks certain Archer will come back into the side regardless, having missed out last week because of the five-day isolation period that followed his unapproved trip to Hove. But he needs to know he doesn’t have to deal with it on his own, he’s got good people around him who want him to be happy, to enjoy his cricket and life away from the sport.
His superb career strike rate of a wicket every 51 balls came in a New Zealand side in which bowlers at the other end required 80 balls for each wicket.
But there have been times where criticism has motivated him. Of the 67 bowlers* who have taken at least 200 Test wickets, 49 are pace bowlers, 17 are spinners and one is Garry Sobers. His average was thus 1.57 times better, and his economy rate 1.27 times better than the overall mean.
Anderson's mastery of seam and swing saw him take ten wickets in the match, with an average WWP of 2.13% per ball (meaning his average delivery would take a wicket 2.13% of the time he bowled it). 2. With this in mind, statistics that measure players relative to their team would be significant additions to the current set of elementary cricket statistics. In other words he was more threatening than Anderson was in his ten-wicket Headingley masterclass. MacGill played 16 of his 44 Tests with Shane Warne.
4. Widely regarded as one of the greatest all-rounders in cricket history, Botham represented England in both Test and One-Day International cricket. They are often used by fans to make a point, so next time you are discussing unlucky bowlers, perhaps reference to WWP can help.