Legends' cold feud continues

"Ian Chappell worries me about as much as a cold... I couldn't care less what he says." And so continues cricket's great feud.

The former Australian Test player has reacted to claims in Botham's new book about a bar-room incident in Melbourne 30 years ago where the Englishman recalled how he had flattened Chappell and sent him "flying over a table and crash-landed on a group of Aussie rules footballers..."

The pair haven't spoken since, remarkable really since they both work in broadcasting. In fact, this summer was especially interesting as ESPN and Sky Sports usually had their studios next door to each other.

Anyway, here's Chappelli in another of cricket's controversies:

The day when Beefy caught in a stew

Further to the last post on Ian Botham's knighthood comes this ironic story from the 1992 World Cup.

The Australian press picked this up from sportasylum, a sports history site, obviously more than happy to relive the story 15 years on. Beefy reveals that he is still incensed over the pre-World Cup final dinner and the infamous Queen impersonator.

The all-rounder and Graham Gooch both walled out of the dinner when the comic joked that the royal family was to be sponsored by Fosters and was to be privatised.

Watch the ITN news item here.

Sir Loin of Beef

Ian Botham is all set to be knighted at the Palace. And as England's greatest all-rounder admits, this will be the greatest day of them all.

Not content with glorious memories of whipping the Australians into submission, Botham will be at his happiest when the Queen's sword is placed on his shoulder.

No doubt a small gathering will ensue afterwards to celebrate, along with the usual congratulatory/rude text messages.

Click on the Ian Botham tag below to see how this blog has tried to keep up with Beefy's life.

Beefy v Nutley

Ian Botham's impending knighthood has got the Nutley thinking how difficult it might now be to track the great all-rounder down for future interviews.

The job I used to do had me phoning across four continents in pursuit of Sir Beefyness and his world exploits don't look like stopping in the future either. Into his fifties, the '81 Ashes hero's zest for life continues: once he's off commentary there's no stopping his pursuit of the high life. The future Lady Botham only gets pestered when he's home so he keeps the body busy with golf, fishing and much else besides.

I once phoned him straight after Steve Harmison's last ball brilliance against Michael Clarke during the Ashes. "Sorry mate," came the reply. "Missed that one. Half way across the Pennines on my way to a function." There's more to life than cricket with Beefy.

And the Nutley's Ian Botham tags aren't boring either. There's Beefy's boat during the World Cup, his wine label with Bob Willis, tracking Beefy down across a mountain pass in Pakistan and then on a boat to Ravi Shastri's joint in Bombay and the Beefy v Lillee Trotting race in 1983.

Colombo calling

Sri Lankan legends will be phoning Jamaica on Monday for a good luck conference call before their semi-final clash the following day.

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I had a quick think and couldn't come up with any other country other than Sri Lanka who could muster a bunch of legends in a room to phone up select members of a current squad.

Imagine Beefy, Athers, Nasser, Gooch, Gatt, Gower and Lamby in one room ready to phone Michael Vaughan's hotel room on the eve of a big game. It'd be mayhem as Beefy would no doubt take control to talk about changing the batting line-up. In Australia, it might be a little different as Border, Matthews, Alderman and Boon would be thinking if there would be any point as Ricky's men are going to win anyway.

Yup, I can just hear the sound of Aravinda and Arjuna giving some warm good-lucks down the phone from Colombo to Mahela Jayawardene and Co.

St Lucia style

St Lucia whispers... which former England all-rounder turned commentator is living in luxury on the above boat called 'Touch' while all other media personnel make do with their resort hotels?

Nutley's Ashes nuggets

It's time to unwind today with a few Ashes links. 12 days in Perth, the world's most remote city, was enough for me and just by walking around Melbourne, I have already encountered its vibrant and cosmopolitan atmosphere. And the "G" looks imposing too. Shane Warne's mentor Terry Jenner reckons Ian Bell will be the leg-spinner's 700th victim there: the Warwickshire man may have turned a corner in his Test career but Jenner's quote is enough to send any batsman over the edge, especially on Warne's home turf.
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Okay, let's forget Warne for a moment. It's Monty Mania time at the MCG in some circles. Geoff McClure's piece in The Age gives readers the usual 20 things no one knew about Monty while he says that England's cult hero will be given a roaring reception from the Bays.
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If you want to know who Phil DeFreitas dressed up as at England's Christmas party back in the days then you can listen to the latest Ashes podcast that I've done for Nobok Sports. Elsewhere, if you want to find out about Beefy's 51st birthday bash then Ted Corbett's recent Ashes Diary is up at Sportstar, while Andrew Flintoff's lbw dismissal is re-enacted by the excellent Ashes Blog - a pivotal moment on the last day, ending any hopes England harboured of winning on day five.

Podcast: Beefy v Lillee

A great cricketing duel on the pitch, for one evening only it actually continued off it - in front of 20-odd thousand punters at Adelaide Globe Derby Raceway, 23 years ago.

Someone told me about a Botham v Lillee Trotting Challenge in 1983 and it sounded like a good story to pursue. It appears that cricketers always did these kind of things back then to pull in the crowds, so I went along to the track to find out more; and although the atmosphere seemed a touch backward at first, I couldn't get enough by the end. I first spoke to 80-year-old Jack, a former pro-Harness Racing trainer, who then told me to go to the bistro where there was a guy called Barry Norman "whose lived behind the track for 30 years, so if anyone should know it's him."

With some okay stuff in the bag, it was time to leave. "Oi, are you the Pom wanting to know about this Lillee thing?" Jackpot. I was taken to see Pete, president of South Australian Harness Racing who gave me the lowdown on how Beefy "was shitting it". Anyway, listen to the podcast I did for Nobok Sports here. Scroll down to 'Beefy gets the trots'.

*I was phoned up by a local Adelaide station today to speak about my plight on finding racegoers from that night. Low and behold, somone got in touch to say they had a signed programme from that night. I'll do anything to see Botham in jockey silks.

Adelaide's own BMW

BMW's have all the luck. A recent survey suggests that its drivers have more sex than owners of any other cars and are much more active than Porsche drivers. (I don't know any myself so unsure of this statistic). Anyway, Nutley's point is aimed at another piece of BMW luck.

BMW is Botham, Merrill, Willis - the wine brand set up by two former English cricketers and a South Australian wine producer. Their wines have been around for a few years now, even though Botham met Geoff Merrill at the Adelaide Oval twenty years ago. There is a great line on how the brand was set up from humourist Bob Willis (who may have spilt some of his own stuff on his jumper) in an interview here. "They [Adelaide] have two beers there called West End Draught and Southwark Premium. I referred to this Southwark Premium as 'weasel's piss', and then this voice said: 'Don't like our beer? Then you'd better try our wine.' And that was Geoff."

Beefy: Double-0 Ashes

You know it's getting close when Ian Botham is in town. Golf courses, restaurants, wineries and fishing boats are all vying for His Beefiness' business over the coming months. And it just wouldn't be the same without a newspaper quote: "This is the oldest Australian side I've ever seen," Botham said in his latest Dad's Army jibe.

I will have the pleasure of interviewing Beefy (or at least trying to) this Winter for a series of weekly podcasts. I don't expect an easy time of it either - just follow the Ian Botham tag below for a series of adventures tracking down the former Ashes giant.

In a storyline not too dissimilar from Daniel Craig's double-0 efforts, I have attempted to track Beefy down when he has been: on a speedboat to Ravi Shastri's abode in Mumbai; in a helicopter on his way for a round of golf with Dean Jones in Delhi; filming a Weetabix advert in Australia when I thought he was still in Sri Lanka and losing mobile contact on a mountain pass in Pakistan. (A far cry from playing himself in Emmerdale in 1995, right). It even went as far as trying to order some fish in a Sri Lankan restaurant, only to be told that a table (Beefy's) had eaten the lot earlier that day.

So when I heard that Beefy would be doing an Ashes walk Down Under, I resigned myself to hiring a van for an Outback expedition. Luckily his walking exploits were consigned to raising thousands last month in the UK, but I'm still taking my speargun and wetsuit out if I'm having difficulty on the Gold Coast.

Bombay bites

I hear a couple of tigers were recently spotted at the famous reserve north of Nagpur. Well, I could have done with the same trackers in Mumbai over the last few days when I tried to get near our Beefy.

Harder to spot than a Shoaib Akhtar delivery, England's former all-rounder has been sighted in a helicopter (going south of Mumbai to India's new resort complex Amby Valley) and then on a boat, on his way to lunch at Ravi Shastri's joint the other side of town.

However, he might be easier to spot during the Ashes this winter. Beefy is continuing his efforts for charity by walking from Melbourne to Adelaide (Boxing Day to Australia Day) with fellow cricketing greats Allan Border and Dean Jones.

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After interviewing Athers in front of the Gateway of India with a fantastic evening light, a young Indian came up to us and said a memorable one-liner: "Hello sirs, I just have to tell you that I have an unbelievable, 24/7 crazy diet for cricket."

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If the constant noise of the city doesn't get to the hardiest of country folk, then breakfast at The Ambassador Hotel will. Meandering into breakfast, you are confronted with the sounds of furious Techno beats as you try and remember your room number.

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It's Bombay Test week and as well as society gossip columnists, former Indian greats are also in town. Nobok Legend Farokh Engineer is one who still commands much attention from cricket fans - even during an interview. Farokh looked up in disbelief as a middle-aged man thrust his hand out with the camera rolling. After telling him that the camera really wasn't a garden plant he responded: "Ah well, it's still good for an old man's ego."

Rod Gilmour in Mumbai

Cricket World's Island Diary No.6

Match referee Clive Lloyd was featured on national radio's SLBC at the weekend during the island's popular programme 'Melodies and Memories' - similar to the BBC's Desert Island Discs. Hailing from Jamaica, along with Sky Sports' Michael Holding and umpire Steve Bucknor, the former West Indian legend was understood to be delighted at being asked to pick his favourite numbers. His selection included hits from Calypso king Johnny Mathis like 'Banana Boat Song' and 'Beautiful Parakeet'. One of the programme producers is Bertram Jayasuriya, inventor of the 'Catch It' Fielding machine, which would have been a great early Christmas present for the England team.

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By walking into the SSC grounds on the first day of the final Test here in Colombo, Irishman John Woods had finished what he set about achieving - visiting all 57 Test grounds in a year and a day. Woods says the idea was first conceived when he decided to travel to watch the Windies-Australia series in 1995, which was hanging in the balance at 1-1, after a few drinks down his local. Woods' journey this year has seen him take in 16 Test matches and 40 ODIs.

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Whenever a touring team comes to Sri Lanka, one cafe can be sure of custom. The Cricket Club Cafe in Colombo has for the past month been home to England's Barmy Army as well as being popularised by Sri Lanka's ex-pats. Inside, the Long Room and Bradman Bar walls are filled with newspaper clippings, past scorecards and scorecards from around the world. On the menu, you can choose from the Courtney Colada, Viv Veggie Burger or fan favourite Botham Burger.

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The same could be said for Beach Wadiya, revered among Sri Lankans as one of the best fish restaurants in the capital. Looking forward to a crab dish, Cricket World was told that most of the fish dishes had all gone after a particularly busy afternoon from one table. Speaking to Olwyn, the congenial owner of 30 years, it emerged that the Sky Sports team including one IT Botham had enjoyed a long meal earlier in the day.

Cricket World's Island Diary No.3

After close on five years living in Galle, British couple Joe and Jack Eden, grandson of former prime minister Anthony Eden, have developed their business of helping run and maintain villas in the city, but not just through hard work. Word-of-mouth and tourism to the south-west coast have flourished and as Cricket World discovered, staying in one of these beautiful villas (www.villasinsrilanka.com) is close on equal to having the privilege of watching a Test match here.

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UNESCO recently visited the Old Fort area, a world heritage site, to help develop Galle for its future. And after several years of the Citadel being unable to maintain various sites with the funds given to them, the development uinit at the University of London has drawn up plans which will see the Fort's ramparts being properly maintained and conserved, advertising on the city's tuk-tuks and a focus on urban regeneration in the principle.

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If the Australian batsmen find themselves in a spin next February, when they are due to tour Sri Lanka, they could no worse than finding solace in one of their country's own brand of wines. Aussie company Angoves specialises in exporting wines and has tapped Sri Lanka as one of the new emerging markets after previously sourcing India and China. Last month it shipped its first 700 cases to Colombo.

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Finally, former England legend Ian Botham, who is covering the tour for Sky Sports and Ten Sports, has been busy on two fronts. He arrived in Sri Lanka only last week only then to fly to Melbourne, Victoria to shoot the latest in his line of Shredded Wheat adverts before flying back on Monday in time for the first Test.