Former cricketer Lord Ian Botham sold valuable memorabilia from his illustrious playing career, with the 1981 Ashes victory commemorative among the best-selling items.
It was part of the collection England all-rounder and leading wicket-taker so far James Anderson surpassed his 383 wickets in 2015 sold the ball with which he took five Australian wickets in 1981 Ashes.
A red ball given to Botham by one of the umpires after a match at Edgbaston sold for £20,000.
Meanwhile, an original cricket stump from a previous match at Headingley, which Botham took as a souvenir and which had ‘Headingley 81’ written in ink on the base, sold for £11,000.
An inscribed Man of the Match medal from the 1981 Headingley match was also one of the highest-selling items in the collection, going under the hammer for more than double its pre-sale estimate of £19,000.
In total, Botham sold more than 200 souvenirs during his entire career at The Oval cricket ground in the south of the country. London as part of Knights Sporting Auctions – the decision has been made to sell items as part of the move to downsizing.
The top selling item from the auction was an original Manchester United short-sleeve shirt worn by Northern Ireland footballer Samuel ‘Sammy’ McIlroy in a Charity Shield match against Liverpool at Wembley in August 1977.
The shirt, which McIlroy gave to Botham and was valued at £3,000 before the sale, sold for £23,000.
Meanwhile, the 2004 BBC Sports Personal of the Year award was sold for £3,600.
Other lots included Botham’s Somerset 1st XI cricket cap, which sold for over £2,700 before the sale, and a navy blue Test jacket, issued to Botham and worn during his England career, which sold for £1,800 .
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/ian-botham-james-anderson-london-australian-england-b2376260.html