Review by Justin Bateman
Stars Ian Botham, Bob Willis, Mike Brearley, Kim Hughes, Rodney Marsh | Narrated by Tom Hardy
UK certification E | UK RRP £9.93 | DVD Region 2 | Runtime 92 minutes | Written and directed by James Erskine
In the summer of 1981, the Australian cricket team came to England to contest the Ashes, the oldest competition in the game’s history. They arrived at a good time, too. Captained by a talented young all-rounder by the name of Ian Botham, England had nevertheless just suffered a humiliating defeat in the West Indies and his own form was poor.
The first test in the six match series showed the home side’s batting frailties and saw the Aussie tourists win easily. The second test at Lords, the home of cricket, fizzled out into a draw but not before Botham collected the dreaded pair – no runs scored in either innings – and then resigned his captaincy.
Bizarrely, the England selectors then announced that they were about to sack him anyway – hardly the sort of confidence boost a 24-year-old, even one as ebullient as Botham, would probably have wanted. In his stead, Mike Brearley was appointed for the third test at Headingley and although he had captained his country before, was generally seen as a liability as a batsman which ironically was his speciality. Even his counterpart Kim Hughes was taken aback, especially given the paucity of runs in the team.
Having posted a decent score of 401-9 declared, Australia skittled England out for 174 and although Botham scored 50 the knives were out for the home side. Following on at 135-7 everything looked lost for England before one of the greatest comebacks in sporting history happened before the disbelieving eyes of the cricket-loving world.
Yes, this is the story of Botham’s Ashes, a quite remarkable series of events some 30 years ago and writer-director James Erskine has put together a fine documentary chronicling them. Combining footage and strangely atmospheric black and white stills from the time with present day interviews with those involved works a treat, as the players are able to be far more honest in their assessments now than they ever could have been at the time.
This is a terrifically told story of some truly extraordinary sporting achievements and a thoroughly entertaining hour and a half. One for cricket diehards for sure, but you never know, with a bit of encouragement you might even tempt a newcomer to the sport with this little gem.
EXTRAS ★★ Extended interview with Ian “Beefy” Botham; Mini features on The Ashes, World Series Cricket and Playing For your Country, all of which comprise further interviews with those already seen in the main film; and Beefy’s Great British Walks – to beat childhood blood cancers, a very short potted history of the main man’s tireless charity work over the years.