Aussie cricket legend lifts the lid on how Sir Ian Botham was SAVED after he fell into crocodile-infested waters during fishing trip: 'I should have got a knighthood'
Back in 2024, Botham took to Instagram to reveal how he had nearly become the catch of the day for a few of the reptiles.
The 69-year-old had been on a four-day trip with his former Ashes rival, Hughes, when disaster struck, with the England all-rounder taking a tumble off the side of the boat.
'Quite a few sets of [crocodile] eyes were having a peep at me. Luckily, I had no time to think about what was in the water,' Botham explained.
The group were fishing for barramundi on the Moyle River, which is situated around 200km south of Darwin.
The waterbody is known to be the home of a population of saltwater crocodiles.
Botham revealed that he was doing OK after the shocking incident, with the rest of the boat's crew quickly jumping to help pull the cricket great out of the water. He suffered a few bruises, but thankfully, that was the worst of his injuries.
While he and Hughes squared off in some huge battles in the 80s, they are great friends and share a love of fishing.
Recounting the fishing trip, Hughes joked during an interview with The Telegraph that he couldn't 'believe King Charles didn't give him a call' to offer him a knighthood, for his part in saving Beefy from the snarling crocs.
But in a twist to the tale, Hughes revealed that he actually didn't know that Botham had fallen into the water.
He told The Telegraph that he was, in fact, asleep in his cabin while the incident unfolded.
'We did go fishing, and Ian Botham did fall in the water,' Hughes said. 'But did I have anything to do with dragging him out? Not quite. I was asleep in my cabin. I found out about two hours later.'
Hughes, who hailed Beefy as a great mate and competitor, had travelled to the Northern Territory for a charity lunch in Darwin with Botham.
The pair decided to go on a fishing trip.
'On the second day, Beefy turned to me and said: 'You don't see many crocs here.' I said: 'Mate, it's not the crocs you see that are the problem.'
'When I got up early to admire the sunrise, I saw a 4½-metre crocodile 10 metres away, just sitting there. What people don't realise is the tides – it's a nine-metre tide. If you go off the back of the boat, you're going to get swept away.
'The moment Beefy went in, a couple of guys grabbed hold of his shirt so that he didn't lose contact. That's the true story. But if you want me to tell the fictitious one, I'm happy to go with that, too.
'The one where I dived in the water and dragged him out of the croc's grasp,' he joked.
Hughes revealed that it was his friend Justin Jones, the boat's chef and the chief of the Northern Territory's chamber of commerce, Greg Ireland, who all helped Botham to safety.
Hughes then revealed that one of his sons had asked him if he had really saved Botham, to which he replied: 'I wouldn't dive in. You don't even dip your toe in the water up there.'
During his playing career, Hughes would go on to play in 53 Tests for Australia, returning 212 wickets and over 1,000 runs.
He now stars in a popular Aussie TV show, Merv Hughes Fishing.
'The guys were brilliant, it was just one of those accidents,' Botham said at the time.
'It was all very quick and I'm OK now.'
It is estimated that between 100,000 and 200,000 adult crocodiles reside in Australia, with the Northern Territory boasting the largest population.
The Northern Territory Government has set up active croc management programmes to help reduce the likelihood of fatal attacks.
On average, one to two deaths due to crocodiles take place in Australia each year.
Forty-four people have died in Australia since croc protection measures were first implemented in Western Australia back in 1969.
Saltwater crocs can live up to 70 years and grow to around 5m in length.
They possess around 68 large teeth and can exert two tonnes of pressure with one bite.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
BBC News
23 minutes ago
- BBC News
Haynes leads Notts to win over struggling Glamorgan
MetroBank One Day Cup, CardiffGlamorgan 278-9 (50 overs): Byrom 62, Root 56; Lord 2-50Notts Outlaws 282-3 (46.3 overs): Haynes 124, Hameed 58*, Slater 57Notts won by seven wickets Match scorecard A controlling innings of 124 from Jack Haynes steered Notts Outlaws to a comprehensive seven-wicket win over Glamorgan, finally ending the defending champions' slim hopes of Ben Slater (57) and Haseeb Hameed (58 not out) made a target of 279 look simple as the visitors strolled to victory with 27 balls to spare in the Sophia Gardens sunshine. Glamorgan stuttered in the middle of their innings after a bright start from Eddie Byrom (62) and Asa Tribe (43), before Billy Root's 56 anchored the back end of the innings as they reached wickets were shared round a largely inexperienced Notts attack, with debutant Byron Hatton-Lowe, 18, among those claiming two wickets. The Outlaws have two wins, a tie and two defeats from their five matches. Notts made five changes and Glamorgan three, bringing in Henry Hurle, Billy Root and Romano Franco, with Will Smale taking the gloves after Alex Horton suffered a dislocated thumb at Tribe got Glamorgan off to a strong start with nine fours in his 43 off 32 balls before skying Hatton-Lowe to cover with the score on 71, and the seamer followed up by having Henry Hurle caught on the square-leg boundary for 12 in his first innings for the pattern of catches in the deep continued as Rob Lord had the stylish Byrom caught at deep square-leg, having struck 10 boundaries and faced 72 balls, and Kiran Carlson caught at fine-leg for Will Smale (16) run out in a mix-up with Root, Glamorgan were five down in the 30th over and forced to rebuild as the Outlaws slowed the boundary count. Zain Ul Hassan drove Joe Pocklington (1-46) to cover for 20, but Root added 57 with Dan Douthwaite, who clubbed a couple of big sixes in his fell to Lyndon James in the last over after a responsible knock, taking a rare opportunity in only his second first-team appearance of the season. Ben Martindale, in his first senior game this year, started brightly with 21 off 23 before falling in a tight spell from Ul Hassan, but Slater and Haynes put together a largely untroubled stand of ended when 18-year-old North Walian spinner Romano Franco claimed his first senior wicket, Slater chipping to deep captain Hameed took up the chase in a decisive partnership of 141 with Haynes, whose knock took just 103 balls, including 11 fours and four looked set to see them home when he was caught behind off Tribe, the Jersey product claiming his first Glamorgan wicket. There was time for Hameed to reach a busy 49-ball half-century before the inevitable result, Glamorgan slumping to a fourth defeat in four matches played after a lacklustre afternoon.
The Independent
24 minutes ago
- The Independent
Sonny Baker celebrates England call-up with Hundred hat-trick
Jos Buttler and Heinrich Klaasen scored half-centuries as the Manchester Originals cruised to a 57-run victory over the Northern Superchargers in the men's Hundred. The Originals were restricted in the early stages as Phil Salt and Ben McKinney both fell cheaply, but Buttler and Rachin Ravindra put on 62 from 35 deliveries before Matthew Potts dismissed Ravindra for 31. Buttler continued to shine alongside Klaasen as the pair put on an unbeaten 69 as they finished not out on 64 and 50 respectively. The Superchargers' chase of 172 got off to a poor start when Josh Tongue struck twice in eight balls to dismiss Zak Crawley and Michael Pepper. They were handed a further blow when Harry Brook was caught by Matty Hurst off Ravindra for just 11. David Miller offered some resistance with a hard-fought 38 before being bowled by Tongue, who took three wickets alongside Sonny Baker - who finished the match with a hat-trick in the week of his England call-up. Earlier in the afternoon the Originals' women's team edged to a five-run win against the Superchargers. England bowler Kate Cross removed Kathryn Bryce and Beth Mooney early but Deandra Dottin hit a brilliant unbeaten 51 from 26 deliveries to help the Originals post 117 for five. Bryce found an early breakthrough when Davina Perrin hit her delivery to Sophie Ecclestone, but the Superchargers gained control with Alice Davidson-Richards and Phoebe Litchfield's partnership. The pair blasted 64 runs from 47 balls before Litchfield was dismissed for 31 by Bryce for her second wicket and Kerr soon took the scalp of Davidson-Richards, who fell for 29. Wickets suddenly fell in quick succession as Annabel Sutherland was caught by Fi Morris off Ecclestone and skipper Hollie Armitage was bowled by Kerr. And some solid bowling at the death saw Ecclestone take Bess Heath's wicket and Bryce caught Cross off Lauren Filer for the Originals to narrowly claim their third win of the competition. Birmingham Phoenix were bowled out for just 76 as they slumped to their fourth defeat from five games in the women's competition with an 88-run thrashing at the hands of London Spirit. The defending champions struggled in the opening stages when Georgia Redmayne was dismissed early and Emily Arlott bowled both Cordelia Griffith and Charli Knott. Kira Chathli underpinned the innings with a fantastic 69-runs from 35 balls, but her effort was ended after edging Ellyse Perry behind. Grace Harris picked up where Chathli left off with a quickfire 34 before being trapped lbw by Arlott for her third wicket as the Spirit closed on 164 for six. Georgia Voll fell early in the Phoenix's chase and Emma Lamb enjoyed a bright start before being run out for 23, the highest score of their innings.
The Guardian
38 minutes ago
- The Guardian
Caribbean looks to revive passion and pride for cricket – and for the region
When they toured overseas in the 1970s, West Indies cricketers were sometimes subjected to barrages of racist abuse. But back home in the Caribbean, the men were heroes, with families huddled around radios and televisions whenever they played and shouts of jubilation erupting across entire communities whenever they won. Today, the generation of players who won two World Cups, in 1975 and 1979, are acclaimed as living legends for stepping up to the crease regardless of the challenges – and triumphing over teams from larger, more developed nations. And as the region celebrates Emancipation Month to commemorate the end of slavery, they have been hailed as figures of regional pride whose mastery of a game imported by the British became a powerful symbol of political and cultural resistance. Earlier this month, St Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) hosted the first-ever Emancipation Cricket Festival, which the culture and tourism minister, Carlos James, described as a reminder of the powerful link 'between our emancipation, resistance, our Caribbean culture and the birth of Caribbean cricket'. 'Some folks ask, why are you linking cricket – which is a game of the English – to emancipation. How does it correlate? Well, it was a period where every Caribbean national was glued to their radios … their television sets, to follow these men who went out in the middle of the cricket pitch,' James said. By touring – and winning – that generation of sportsmen sent a powerful message, he said: 'They were making a political statement that we are young Black men from small Caribbean islands – and we can dominate the world.' James said that understanding the link between sport and politics – and reviving the collective passion for the game – could help turn the tide for today's West Indies team, which has performed poorly in recent games. St Vincent and the Grenadines' prime minister, Ralph Gonsalves, one of the region's strongest voices for reparations from Europe for the genocide of Native peoples and the enslavement of African people, said the aim of the emancipation festival was to bring awareness to the region's period of struggle and resistance. 'Cricket, a game brought to us … by the British colonists, became our own existential instrument to aid our quest for national liberation, liberty, equality, fairness and justice,' he said. 'We absorbed this English sport, mastered it, transcended its limits, made it our own, redefined it - and took it beyond the boundaries.' He added that today, 'cricketing culture' remained vital to the region. But such is the state of Caribbean cricket that Caricom, the 15-country regional bloc, recently said that it was 'deeply concerned … about all aspects of the current state of the game in the region'. In a statement, Caricom said: 'Cricket has, for decades, been a platform through which our small nations have collectively stood tall on the world stage. West Indies Cricket is very much a 'public good'.' It added that 'the [West Indies] team's recent performance is a moment of reckoning for this cherished Caribbean institution'. Describing cricket as a 'glue that has kept us together', Sir Clive Lloyd, who twice led the West Indies to world cup victory, welcomed the intervention by Caricom, saying: 'We are not a very rich area and [it will be good] if they can inject cash and whatever it is that is needed.' Kesrick Williams, 35, a former cricketer from St Vincent, said some of today's players were becoming disillusioned and needed more support. He called for a change in the general culture of West Indies cricket to revive passion for the sport among children and young people. 'I can't tell when last I saw cricket being played in the road and the traffic had to stop. We have to build back that cricket culture and that firm love for the game,' he said. 'Growing up, what would put a smile on my dad's face was watching cricket. As a youngster when I saw that … I fell in love with cricket.' James said Caricom was hoping to include the cricket heroes of the 70s – who were recently the subject of a set of a commemorative stamps in SVG – in discussions about the game: 'Most of the legends are still around. And if we can take an ounce of passion that they have, and we move that from their generation to the next generation of Caribbean cricketers, it will make a whole heap of difference.'
