ENGLAND cricket legend Ian Botham had added his considerable voice to growing calls for Jason’s case to be reinvestigated. Agreeing to support the Free Jason Moore campaign, the former all-rounder said: “I’ve known Jason for a good few years through our love of cricket and sport in general. “He looks to be victim of a miscarriage of justice and his case needs reinvestigating.” Sir Ian added: “I am 100 per cent behind the campaign to free Jason. Let’s get the big lad out!” A huge sporting icon and Ashes hero, Botham is hailed as one of the greatest all-rounders in the history of the game.
He played most of his first-class cricket for Somerset, at other times competing for Worcestershire, Durham and Queensland. He was an aggressive right-handed batsman and, as a right-arm fast-medium bowler, was noted for his swing bowling. He generally fielded close to the wicket, predominantly in the slips.
In 102 Test match appearances, Botham scored 5,200 runs. He hit 14 centuries with a highest score of 208, and from 1986 to 1988 held the world record for the most Test wickets until overtaken by fellow all-rounder Sir Richard Hadlee. He took five wickets in an innings 27 times, and 10 wickets in a match four times. In 1980, ‘Beefy’ became the second player in Test history to complete the ‘match double’ of scoring 100 runs and taking 10 wickets in the same match. On the occasion of England’s 1,000th Test in August 2018, he was named in the country’s greatest Test XI by the ECB. His 116 One Day Internationals yielded 2,113 runs. Lord Botham OBE has been a prodigious charity fundraiser, undertaking 12 long-distance charity walks. His efforts have raised more than £12 million for charity, with leukaemia research the main beneficiary. He was awarded a knighthood in 2007 for services to cricket and charity, and in 2020 became a member of the House of Lords with a life peerage.
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