Miraculous escape! Cricket legend Ian Botham saved from crocodiles by his fiercest rival
British cricket legend Ian Botham, 68, famously known as "Beefy," narrowly escaped a deadly encounter after falling into a crocodile-infested river, as reported by The Sun. In a twist of fate, it was his long-time rival on the cricket field, now close friend, Australian Merv Hughes, 62, who came to his rescue.
The two old friends had ventured out to the Moyle River in Northern Australia for a fishing trip. During their outing, Botham got tangled in a rope and fell overboard into the river. Hughes didn't hesitate for a second and rushed to pull him out just in time before the crocodiles could attack.
The British cricket icon escaped with severe bruises on his torso, which he sustained from hitting their boat during the fall.
“In the end, Crocodile Beefy survived. I jumped out of the water faster than I fell into it. Quite a few pairs of eyes were watching me. Luckily, I didn’t have time to think about what was in that water,” Botham recounted later.
Throughout his illustrious career, Botham led England to five Ashes series victories and was knighted in 2007 for his contributions to the sport.
Earlier, Botham had auctioned off memorabilia from his iconic 1981 Ashes series victory, preserving the memories of one of his most celebrated triumphs.
Yasmine Green
Dailysports's expert
Translated by the editors
