Do you know? The first player to score a century and take ten wickets in a Test
Ian Botham was the first cricketer in the world to score a century and take ten wickets in a Test match, he achieved the feat in 1980. Since then, only two cricketers have managed to achieve this ‘perfect all-rounder’ feat.
The rich history of producing quality pace all-rounders including their current Test captain Ben Stokes and youngster Sam Curran. Stokes has already scored over 5000 runs in Test cricket and is six wickets away from 200 wickets. The former cricketer Andrew Flintoff, with over 200 wickets and almost 4000 runs in Tests, is another pace all-rounder example from English cricket.
However, before Flintoff and Stokes, it was Ian Botham who was arguably one of the best all-rounders in the world. Botham made his Test debut in August 1977 and dominated world cricket in 1980s. He was the leading wicket-taker in Tests with 383 wickets from 102 matches when he retired in 1992.
Botham, a right-handed batter, also managed to score over 5000 runs in Tests with 14 centuries. He remains England’s leading wicket-taker, of course only after current veterans James Anderson and Stuart Broad.
Flashback of Ian Botham’s heroics
Botham created this unique record against India during England’s tour to celebrate India’s 15th anniversary in Test cricket. India won the toss and captain Gundappa Viswanath decided to bat first at Mumbai’s Wankhede Stadium. Botham produced his one of the best spells in red-ball cricket with six wickets for 58 to bowl out the hosts on 242. Sunil Gavaskar top-scored with 49 off 68.
The right-arm pacer picked big wickets for Gavaskar and Kapil Dev, the latter on a golden duck. He continued that momentum with the bat and smashed 114 off 144 to help England score 296 in their first innings.
But he was not done as he went on to produce another remarkable spell in India’s second innings. Botham took seven wickets for 48, including Gavaskar’s wicket again, to bowl out India for 149. Then the English openers Graham Gooch and Geoff Boycott chased the 96-run target without losing a wicket and a day to spare.
Botham’s 114-run knock in the first innings and 13 wickets from both innings made him the first-ever cricket to score a century and took a 10-wicket haul in a Test match.
