The ball Sir Ian Botham used to take five wickets for one run in a lethal spell that inspired England to victory in the 1981 Ashes, estimate £15,000-25,000 at Knight’s sale at The Kia Oval.
The sale is being conducted by Knight’s of Norwich in the long room at The Kia Oval, Surrey’s home ground. Bidding is also available via thesaleroom.com.
The famous all-rounder is parting 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) comes for sale 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.
Admirable career
Botham joined Somerset County Cricket Club aged 13 and made his senior debut aged 17. Between 1977 and retirement in 1992, he played in 102 test matches, scoring 5200 runs including 14 hundreds and taking 383 wickets.
The Duncan Fearnley stump, which has been marked in ink Headingley 81 by Botham, is valued at £10,000-15,000 and the Edgbaston cherry guided at £15,000-25,000.
The sale comes as England are facing Australia once more, in the 2023 Ashes series.
