Editing Ian Botham (section)

==List of Test centuries and five-wicket innings==
{{See also|List of international cricket five-wicket hauls by Ian Botham}}

[[File:Ian Botham graph.png|right|thumb|350px|Botham's Test career performance graph]]
Compared with many of cricket's greatest players, most of whom were specialists, Botham's averages seem fairly ordinary but this overlooks the fact that he was a genuine [[all-rounder]] and it is rare for this type of player to achieve world-class status. Since the [[Second World War]], Botham is one of perhaps a dozen or so world-class all-rounders whereas there have been numerous world-class specialists. Some of the great all-rounders, such as [[Garfield Sobers]] and [[Jacques Kallis]] as batsmen or [[Alan Keith Davidson|Alan Davidson]] and [[Richard Hadlee]] as bowlers, could justifiably be described as world-class specialists in their main discipline who were effective practitioners of the other. The genuine all-rounders to achieve world-class status during the era, besides Botham himself, have included [[Keith Miller]], [[Richie Benaud]], [[Mike Procter]], [[Clive Rice]], [[Imran Khan]], [[Kapil Dev]] and [[Andrew Flintoff]].

Of note, Botham's first 202 wickets came at 21.20 per wicket, while his final 181 cost on average 36.43 apiece;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://statserver.cricket.org/guru?sdb=player;playerid=1529;class=testplayer;filter=basic;team=0;opposition=0;notopposition=0;season=0;homeaway=0;continent=0;country=0;notcountry=0;groundid=0;startdefault=1977-07-28;start=1977-07-28;enddefault=1992-06-21;end=1992-06-21;tourneyid=0;finals=0;daynight=0;toss=0;scheduledovers=0;scheduleddays=0;innings=0;result=0;followon=0;seriesresult=0;captain=0;keeper=0;dnp=0;recent=;runslow=;runshigh=;batposition=0;dismissal=0;viewtype=bow_cumulative;bowposition=0;ballslow=;ballshigh=;bpof=0;overslow=;overshigh=;conclow=;conchigh=;wicketslow=;wicketshigh=;dismissalslow=;dismissalshigh=;caughtlow=;caughthigh=;caughttype=0;stumpedlow=;stumpedhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype|title=IT Botham&nbsp;– Test Bowling&nbsp;– Cumulative career averages|publisher=ESPNcricinfo|access-date=28 August 2009}}</ref> the first average is one that would make Botham one of the greatest bowlers of the modern era, ranking alongside the West Indian greats [[Curtly Ambrose]] (career average 20.99), [[Malcolm Marshall]] (career average 20.94), and [[Joel Garner]] (career average 20.97), but the second average depicts a player who, as a specialist bowler, would be unable to sustain a place in many Test teams. This difference can be largely attributed to the longer term effects of a back injury he sustained in 1980;<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/153572.html |title=England v West Indies 1980 |publisher=WisdenOnline |access-date=9 May 2017 |archive-date=6 July 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160706053030/http://www.espncricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/153572.html |url-status=live }}</ref> this limited his bowling pace and his ability to swing the ball.

Botham's batting&nbsp;– although never the equal of his bowling abilities&nbsp;– declined as well, with a batting average of 38.80 for his first 51 Tests substantially higher than the 28.87 he managed in his last 51 Tests,<ref>{{cite web |url=http://statserver.cricket.org/guru?sdb=player;playerid=1529;class=testplayer;filter=basic;team=0;opposition=0;notopposition=0;season=0;homeaway=0;continent=0;country=0;notcountry=0;groundid=0;startdefault=1977-07-28;start=1977-07-28;enddefault=1992-06-21;end=1992-06-21;tourneyid=0;finals=0;daynight=0;toss=0;scheduledovers=0;scheduleddays=0;innings=0;result=0;followon=0;seriesresult=0;captain=0;keeper=0;dnp=0;recent=;viewtype=bat_cumulative;runslow=;runshigh=;batposition=0;dismissal=0;bowposition=0;ballslow=;ballshigh=;bpof=0;overslow=;overshigh=;conclow=;conchigh=;wicketslow=;wicketshigh=;dismissalslow=;dismissalshigh=;caughtlow=;caughthigh=;caughttype=0;stumpedlow=;stumpedhigh=;csearch=;submit=1;.cgifields=viewtype |title=I. T. Botham&nbsp;– Test Batting&nbsp;– Cumulative career averages |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=28 August 2009}}</ref> again a number that would be considered unsatisfactory for a specialist batsman in most Test sides. In the first 5 years of Botham's Test career, when not playing as captain, he scored 2,557 runs at an average of 49.17 including 11 centuries and a highest score of 208, took 196 wickets at an average of 21.28 including nineteen 5 wicket hauls and held 50 catches.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/9163.html?captain=0;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=default;spanmax1=28+Jul+1982;spanval1=span;template=results;type=allround |title=I. T. Botham&nbsp;– Test career all-round analysis |publisher=ESPNcricinfo |access-date=4 May 2009 |archive-date=2 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121002230006/http://stats.espncricinfo.com/ci/engine/player/9163.html?captain=0;class=1;filter=advanced;orderby=default;spanmax1=28+Jul+1982;spanval1=span;template=results;type=allround |url-status=live }}</ref> Such figures denote a player who would easily maintain a place in any Test side as a specialist batsman or bowler alone. During this period his reputation as one of the leading Test all-rounders was firmly established.