Editing Ian Botham (section)

==Early life and development as a cricketer (1955–1973)==
Ian Botham was born in [[Heswall]], Cheshire, to Herbert Leslie ("Les") Botham and Violet Marie, née Collett.<ref name="doust33">Doust (1981), p. 33.</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Barratt |first=Nick |title=Family detective: Sir Ian Botham |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=/education/2007/12/15/fadet115.xml |url-status=live |work=[[The Daily Telegraph]] |location=UK |date=15 December 2007 |access-date=28 August 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071220224103/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/education/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=&xml=%2Feducation%2F2007%2F12%2F15%2Ffadet115.xml |archive-date=20 December 2007}}</ref> His father had been in the [[Fleet Air Arm]] for twenty years spanning the [[Second World War]]; his mother was a nurse. The family moved to [[Yeovil]] before Botham's third birthday after his father got a job as a test engineer at [[Westland Helicopters]].<ref name="doust33"/><ref name=WCY78/> Both his parents played cricket: his father for Westland Sports Club while his mother captained a nursing services team at [[Sherborne]].<ref>Farmer (1979), p. 52.</ref> Botham developed an eagerness for the game before he had started school: he would climb through the fence of the Yeovil Boys' Grammar School to watch the pupils play cricket. At the age of around four, he came home with a cricket ball and asked his mother "Do you know how to hold a ball when you're going to bowl a daisy-cutter?" He subsequently demonstrated the grip and went away to practise bowling it.<ref>Murphy (1988), p. 12.</ref>

Botham attended Milford Junior School in the town, and his "love affair" with sport began there. He played both cricket and football for the school's teams at the age of nine, two years earlier than most of his contemporaries.<ref>Doust (1981), p. 34.</ref><ref name="botham 36-37">{{cite book |last=Botham |first=Ian |chapter=A Bouncing Baby Botham |title=Botham: My Autobiography |publisher=CollinsWillow |year=1994 |pages=36–37 |isbn=0-00-218316-1}}</ref> Playing against the older boys forced Botham to learn to hit the ball hard, and improve to their standard. At the same age he went to matches with his father, who played for Westland Sports Club, and if one of the teams was short, he would try to get a match. His father recalled that though he never got to bowl, and rarely got to bat, he received praise for the standard of his fielding.<ref>Murphy (1988), pp. 12–14.</ref> He joined the [[Boys' Brigade]] where more sporting opportunities were available.<ref name=WCY78/> By the time he was nine, he had begun to "haunt" local recreation grounds with his kit always ready, looking to play for any team that was short of players.<ref name=WCY78/> By the age of twelve he was playing occasional matches for Yeovil Cricket Club's second team.<ref>Murphy (1988), p. 15.</ref>

Botham went on to [[Bucklers Mead Community School|Bucklers Mead Comprehensive School]] in Yeovil, where he continued to do well in sport and played for the school's cricket and football teams. He became captain of their under-16 cricket team when he was thirteen. His performances for the school drew the attention of [[Somerset County Cricket Club]]'s youth coach [[Bill Andrews (cricketer)|Bill Andrews]]. Still thirteen, he scored 80 runs on debut for Somerset's under-15s side against Wiltshire, but the team captain [[Phil Slocombe]] did not call on him to bowl as he considered him to be a specialist batsman.<ref>Doust (1981), pp. 36–37.</ref> Two years later, Botham had the opportunity to choose between football and cricket: [[Bert Head]], manager of [[Crystal Palace F.C.|Crystal Palace]] offered him apprentice forms with the [[Football League First Division|First Division]] club.<ref>Doust (1981), pp. 38–39.</ref> He already had a contract with Somerset and, after discussing the offer with his father, decided to continue to pursue a cricket career, as he believed he was a better cricketer.<ref>Murphy (1988), pp. 16–17.</ref> When informed that he wanted to be a sportsman, Botham's careers teacher said to him: "Fine, everyone wants to play sport, but what are you really going to do?"<ref name=TC>{{cite web |url=http://www.talkcricket.co.uk/guides/cricket_legends_sir_ian_botham.html |title=Talk Cricket |publisher=Fubra Limited |access-date=4 May 2017 |archive-date=27 May 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170527145218/http://www.talkcricket.co.uk/guides/cricket_legends_sir_ian_botham.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:Lord's Pavilion.jpg|thumb|right|The pavilion at [[Lord's Cricket Ground]], where Botham served as a ground boy in 1972 and 1973]]
In 1972, at the age of 16, Botham left school intent on playing cricket for Somerset, who retained his contract but felt he was too young to justify a full professional deal.<ref>Murphy (1988), pp. 18–19.</ref> So, Botham joined the ground staff at [[Lord's Cricket Ground|Lord's]].<ref>Doust (1981), p. 39.</ref> As a ground boy, he had numerous tasks such as "cleaning the pavilion windows, pushing the roller on matchdays, selling scorecards, pressing electronic buttons on the scoreboards and rushing bowling analyses to the dressing-room".<ref>Murphy (1988), pp. 22–23.</ref> He also received coaching and plenty of time in the practice nets, and was often the first to arrive and the last to leave practice.<ref>Murphy (1988), p. 22.</ref> Despite his time in the nets, Botham was only considered by [[Marylebone Cricket Club]] (MCC) coach [[Harry Sharp (cricketer)|Harry Sharp]] to have the potential to become a "good, average county cricketer."<ref name="doust41">Doust (1981), p. 41.</ref> Botham travelled to play for Somerset under-25s a number of times during the season, but failed to excel in any of the matches. His appearances for the MCC were of a similar vein: he rarely scored more than 50 runs, and was used sparingly as a bowler.<ref name="doust41"/> In one such match against "Scotland A", the MCC Young Cricketers used eight bowlers in their second innings, but Botham was not among them.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32705.html |title=Marylebone Cricket Club Young Cricketers v Scotland A: Scotland A in England 1972 |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=19 February 2012 |archive-date=25 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150525231115/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/32/32705.html |url-status=live }}</ref>

The following year, still a ground boy at Lord's, Botham was asked to return to play for Somerset's under-25s more often. Against [[Glamorgan County Cricket Club|Glamorgan U-25]], he scored 91 runs and took three [[Batting order (cricket)#Lower order or tail|tail-end]] wickets,<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/33/33368.html |title=Somerset Under-25s v Glamorgan Under-25s: Under-25 County Cricket Competition 1973 (Western Zone) |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=19 February 2012 |archive-date=1 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151001143922/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/33/33368.html |url-status=live}}</ref> while just under a month later he claimed a further three wickets against Hampshire.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/33/33526.html |title=Somerset Under-25s v Hampshire Under-25s: Under-25 County Cricket Competition 1973 (Western Zone) |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=19 February 2012 |archive-date=9 November 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131109155205/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/33/33526.html |url-status=live }}</ref> He advanced to play for the county's second team in the [[Minor Counties Cricket Championship|Minor Counties Championship]], and although he was still used sparingly as a bowler, he made some good scores with the bat, most significantly against [[Cornwall County Cricket Club|Cornwall]], against whom he aggregated 194 runs in four innings.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/93/93607.html |title=Cornwall v Somerset Second XI: Minor Counties Championship 1973 |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=19 February 2012 |archive-date=26 May 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150526020933/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/93/93607.html |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/93/93667.html |title=Somerset Second XI v Cornwall: Minor Counties Championship 1973 |publisher=CricketArchive |access-date=19 February 2012 |archive-date=12 October 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131012173038/http://cricketarchive.com/Archive/Scorecards/93/93667.html |url-status=live}}</ref> During winter nets prior to the season, Botham had caught the eye of the former [[England cricket team|England]] Test cricketer [[Tom Cartwright]], who coached at [[Millfield School]] in addition to playing for Somerset. Cartwright was impressed with Botham's foot-work and physical co-ordination, and helped him learn the basics of [[swing bowling]], something Botham picked up "astonishingly quickly" according to Cartwright.<ref>Murphy (1988), p. 24.</ref>