Los Angeles Dodgers superstar Shohei Ohtani is a popular guy.
Ohtani was set to speak with the media Monday afternoon in Arlington, Texas, ahead of Tuesday night's 2024 MLB All-Star Game at Globe Life Field. When it was announced Ohtani would be taking the microphone, a stampede of reporters, camera operators and other media members sprinted over to the area to get a good shot of the press conference.
Nobody draws a crowd like the 30-year-old two-way phenom.
Ohtani was voted as a starter in the National League's designated hitter slot in his fourth career All-Star Game. He'll bat second in NL manager Torey Lovullo's lineup behind Arizona Diamondbacks second baseman Ketel Marte and ahead of Philadelphia Phillies slugger Trea Turner.
In 94 games for the Dodgers this season, Ohtani is batting .316/.400/.635 while leading the NL with 29 homers. Over his first three career All-Star Games while suiting up for the AL, Ohtani collected one hit and two walks in six plate appearances.
Daniel Farke is finally starting to find his feet at Leeds United, having initially got off to a difficult start. Now, as the international break comes to an end, the new boss will hope to see his side's recent momentum continue in the Championship as they square off against his former club, Norwich City. It would be some statement from the Whites if they were to beat the Canaries this weekend – three points would lay down a serious show of intent.
As the season goes on, and games come thick and fast, we may start to see Farke experiment to keep his squad fresh, and that could include trying one particular young player in a new role, handing him more game-time.
Leeds United team news
The Yorkshire club have been boosted by the fact that the international break didn't leave them with too much to worry about on the injury front, giving them every chance to kick on and cement themselves as promotion hopefuls in the Championship this season. Injuries could yet result in the emergence of a new star, however, or perhaps even a role change. And the latest Charlie Cresswell news suggests that could be the case for the central defender. Or, at least, that's what Graham Smyth believes.
Speaking on Inside Elland Road, Smyth said: “It will be a really interesting time in January. You don’t know if someone might pick up an injury. It almost feels to me like two need to pick up injuries for Cresswell to get a start right now because I think Farke plays Cooper, Struijk and Rodon before he plays Cresswell, that’s how it feels at the minute.
“But then who saw Archie Gray playing right-back? So Farke has maybe got a surprise up his sleeve, he’s maybe got a role for Cresswell or a game for Cresswell. But if the situation remains as it is, then he’s got a decision in January.”
How many games has Charlie Cresswell played this season?
Former Millwall loanee Charlie Cresswell.
Struggling for minutes, Cresswell has featured just six times for Leeds this season, starting just three times. At 21-years-old, the defender will be aware that his time will come, but for the sake of his development, Cresswell may need to adjust under Farke in order to receive a place in his starting side. After a successful loan spell at Millwall last season, the youngster's struggle at Leeds has come as a surprise, but last season shows that he is more than capable of taking his chance when it comes.
Cresswell earned plenty of praise at The Den, including from former Millwall boss Gary Rowett, who told South London Press: “Knowing his dad and the character he had, you can see that in the lad as well. He’s been brought up really well with a real hunger for work-rate. He’s an aggressive boy who wants to fight, I think that’s why Millwall was something they were very, very keen on even though they had some very good other options.
“A loan player wants to know they’ll get a fair chance and what you’re offering is actually what it says on the tin – not just to try and get the player into our club. He’s not going to be our player at the end of it, he’s going to be Leeds’ player, so we’ve got to do the best job we can along the way.”
Everton are back in Premier League action once again today, as they welcome Luton Town to Goodison Park for the first time since 2006.
Sean Dyche will be hoping to capitalise on the returning feel-good factor instigated by their back-to-back away victories, and claim a first of the season on home soil.
Who could start for Everton vs Luton Town?
For once, the former Burnley boss seems like he will enjoy a relatively clean bill of health for today's clash, which will not be as easy as the league table suggests.
The newly-promoted side sit 18th, having picked up their first and only point of the term last weekend against Wolverhampton Wanderers. However, as a solid and hard-working side, it will take some doing to unlock what will be a very defensive outfit.
31/10/07 – Luton Town vs Everton
1-0 W
24/10/06 – Everton vs Luton Town
4-0 W
14/03/1992 – Everton vs Luton Town
1-1 D
02/11/91 – Luton Town vs Everton
1-0 W
04/05/91 – Everton vs Luton Town
1-0 W
Jack Harrison impressed on his midweek debut at Villa Park, with a tireless display that also boasted two key passes, whilst Dominic Calvert-Lewin continued his return to form with a second goal in as many games to finish off the cup tie.
Meanwhile, the new 5-2-3 formation clearly paid dividends on the road, and poses a key tactical decision that Dyche will have to make going into this match.
However, one thing he certainly must do is recall Dwight McNeil, with the winger now well-rested and ready to provide the killer blow that could place another nail into the Hatters' coffin.
How good is Dwight McNeil?
Having suffered through an injury-hit start to the season, the 23-year-old returned to his old ways with a key assist last weekend as the travelling Toffees toppled Brentford.
It marked the first goal contribution of the term for the winger, who will seek to better his fine tally of seven goals and three assists in the league from last campaign, which made him the club's top scorer.
Given the firepower he is set to enjoy throughout the coming year, in which hopefully the club will have a fully fit Calvert-Lewin and the newly-acquired Beto to aim at, there is every chance of boosting those creative numbers.
Especially if Dyche is to deploy them both, which there have been murmurs about. In fact, the 52-year-old manager was asked about the possibility, and replied positively:
"I've always liked playing with two strikers when possible but it's got to suit the rest of the team as well".
Then, the former Blades marksman weighed in on such a notion:
"He’s [Beto] a physical presence and I’ve really enjoyed training with him. We’ve had a few conversations between ourselves about us being on the pitch at the same time and how that will look, and how we can make that work".
It seems they are gearing towards a potential strike partnership, with there no better time to trial such an attack-minded move than at home to a side completely bereft of confidence.
Beto scored ten goals last season in the Serie A and has already opened his Everton account with a fine finish against Doncaster Rovers in the cup.
His work rate and physicality promises to endear him to Evertonians with ease, and to see his 6 foot 4 frame lining up beside the 6 foot 2 Calvert-Lewin would be a frightening prospect for the opposition.
Especially given McNeil, who during the 2021/22 campaign ranked second for most successful dribbles (90) and third for most crosses (199), has form of firing in wicked deliveries which could cause havoc.
It should come as no surprise that the £20m maverick has been lauded as a "special player" in the past by journalist Andy Jones.
They will seldom get a better opportunity to trial a system that the fans would love to see, and so Beto must start alongside the tricky winger, both earning recalls.
Virdi, a 19-year-old offspinner, claimed Hashim Amla and James Vince in one over as Surrey pressed for victory at The Oval
Paul Edwards at Kia Oval22-Apr-20182:57
Defending champions Essex off the mark
ScorecardOn the first day of this game few things looked as unlikely as a declaration. Yet at 2.51pm on the third afternoon Surrey skipper Rory Burns beckoned Matt Dunn back to the pavilion thereby setting Hampshire 472 to win in something like 140 overs. Burns’ decision was prompted by the dismissal of 20-year-old Ollie Pope, whose 145 might have been the spectators’ chief memory of this day had not Amar Virdi, an even younger Surrey cricketer, complemented his achievement.As Pope walked off the Oval outfield he was given a warm ovation and the applause punctuated the sirenned air. By the close, however, Surrey supporters were also acclaiming Virdi, a 19-year-old offspinner from Chiswick, who had trapped both Hashim Amla and James Vince leg before in his fourth over. Those wickets have done much to ensure the likelihood of a Surrey victory; Hampshire were 116 for 4 when bad light trimmed 9.1 overs off the day. Moreover, Virdi’s success was engagingly celebrated by a joyous bowler who plainly respected the stature of his victims. Instead of crude send-offs, there was boyish delight. Thank you.There was nothing terribly fortuitous about the spinner’s success: Virdi bowls with a brave loop, a high arm and he spins the ball. The delivery which dismissed Amla kept low but that which removed Vince turned appreciably. The significance of the wickets was increased by the fact that both Hampshire batsmen were playing well. Vince, as ever, had produced cover drives to placate his sternest angels; Amla was settling in for the long haul and had already hit Virdi over mid-on, albeit not by much. But the spinner trusted his gifts and his gifts did not betray him. His wickets completed a fine Sunday for Surrey supporters whose team contains seven Academy graduates.Yet as early as the first session one did not need to look very hard to see the beauties of this London morning and Surrey’s batsmen enjoyed themselves on a pitch whose venoms had been drawn by three warm days. No one relished the conditions more than Pope, who reached his second first-class century just before lunch with a cover drive off Chris Wood, a bowler he had earlier cut backward of square and straight-driven to the boundary.Had they desired, members sitting on the top tier of the Oval’s mighty pavilion could have considered the city’s many traps for tourists or the sleeping palaces of profit which lie just outside this most urban of grounds. But most preferred to watch Pope moving confidently onto the front foot as he took the measure of Hampshire’s attack. Before long the sight of him scoring hundreds for Surrey may become as familiar as the London Eye.Wickets fell but they became little more than the acceptable costs of Surrey’s acceleration. True, Ben Foakes will have wanted to begin his season a century but he was bowled for 81 by Fidel Edwards’ first delivery with the new ball, an outswinger reminiscent of this game’s first two days. Edwards was to dismiss both Rikki Clarke and Jade Dernbach in the afternoon session, the latter with a savage bouncer, but the lack of celebration with which this normally effervescent bowler greeted his wickets indicated their significance. The heart of the game was elsewhere and Edwards knew it.Pope ploughed on and his desire to do so will surely have been noted by the Surrey coaches. He scored his maiden first-class century against Hampshire last year but that was at the Ageas Bowl and he made only 100 not out. On his home ground and at the beginning of a season still in its pram, he was allowed to do something even more substantial and he grabbed the chance. He had hit 18 fours and a six when a top-edged sweep gave Rilee Rossouw a catch and Liam Dawson his second wicket of the innings.
Warning bells will be ringing once more in South Africa after Northamptonshire signed Ricardo Vasconcelos as a wicketkeeper batsman
George Dobell05-Mar-2018Warning bells will be ringing once more in South Africa after Northamptonshire signed Ricardo Vasconcelos as a wicketkeeper batsman.While the 20-year-old was born in Johannesburg and has represented Boland and South Africa Under-19s, he will not be considered an overseas player as he has a Portuguese passport. It is understood that he had been of interest to other counties.He will arrive ahead of the start of the Championship season and offers reinforcement for a squad that lost wicketkeeper David Murphy at the end of last season – Murphy has decided to concentrate on a career in law – and is likely to be without Ben Duckett for the first few weeks of the season as he recovers from surgery on an injured finger. It may also be relevant that Northants could face quite a fight to retain the services of Duckett beyond the 2018 season.Northants will also be without Rory Kleinveldt, the former South Africa seamer who has been their overseas player since 2015, for the start of the season, though they expect him to return ahead of the Royal London Cup campaign.While the signing of Vasconcelos could reignite talk about the success (or otherwise) of county development systems, there may be more disquiet in South Africa. With several players on the fringes of selection for the national side having already chosen a future in county cricket – notably Kyle Abbott, Rilee Rossouw and Simon Harmer, with Morne Morkel expected to follow shortly – there will be concern that a young man good enough to represent a CSA Invitational XI as recently as December has committed himself to England for the foreseeable future. He has been obliged to renounce his right to represent South Africa as part of the deal, though such actions are reversible.The statistics from Vasconcelos’ early career are compelling. While South African domestic cricket is not as strong as it once was, the fact that he has scored two centuries and three half-centuries in his first 10 first-class games suggests he is a highly promising cricketer.”I am very excited to have the opportunity to represent Northants, it is a massive opportunity that I hope to grab with both hands,”
Vasconcelos said. “I am looking forward to work with and learn from some of the more experienced players so that I can accelerate my growth as a player as quickly as possible. I am also eager to try and contribute as much as I can to the team’s success.”Northamptonshire’s head coach, David Ripley, added: “He’s a young, hungry cricketer who’s able to provide wicket-keeper cover and push the guys for batting spots. It’s great to have him on board.”
After missing out on a place in the Premier League's top four last time out, Liverpool have returned to their best in the current campaign to sit top of the tree ahead of the new year. The Reds battled past Burnley on Boxing Day to move ahead of Arsenal, but could yet lose their place if the Gunners win their game in hand. Given how tight things are at the top, the January transfer window could make all the difference for the Reds if they are to seal their second Premier League title under Jurgen Klopp.
With that said, and with the transfer window opening in a matter of days, reports suggest that the Reds are eyeing a move to sign one particular Premier League star.
Liverpool transfer news
Liverpool did well to stay unbeaten in December, given that it was a month that saw his injury problems grow. Klopp lost Alexis Mac Allister, Joel Matip and Kostas Tsimikas to injury recently and has been forced to shoehorn Joe Gomez into the left-back role as a result, with Andy Robertson still out. The injuries have at least shown Klopp where he must improve his side next month, which could see one particular left-back arrive.
According to Graeme Bailey, Liverpool are eyeing a move to sign Fulham left-back Antonee Robinson in the January transfer window. The USA star has been on top form throughout the season and could now arrive to solve the ongoing left-back problems at Anfield in the winter window.
It does remain to be seen whether Fulham will sanction the sale of Robinson, however, given his importance to Marco Silva's side. If the Reds do pursue a deal, meanwhile, then they will have to convince an Everton academy graduate to make a move to his boyhood rivals.
"Brilliant" Robinson has already had fine Anfield audition
Whilst some players would need time to win over the Liverpool fans, Robinson already impressed at Anfield earlier this season, starring despite Fulham's dramatic 4-3 defeat. Earning praise as a result of his performance, Jermaine Jenas said on Match of the Day 2: "Robinson was brilliant throughout the game I thought, along with Alex Iwobi. When Salah was quiet it was down to a lot of what Robinson did on the ball. It’s going to be one of those games where Fulham and Marco Silva look back and think ‘how has this happened.'"
Manchester United's Facundo Pellistri in action with Fulham'sAntoneeRobinson
The pundit continued, saying: "Robinson was very unlucky to be on the losing team, down that left hand side the drive that he had, the determination to try and get behind Liverpool’s defence and the link ups with Iwobi were great. They just didn’t quite make the right decisions at the right times when they got into spaces. The energy that Robinson has got, still making runs late to get shots on target, he stood out like a sore thumb."
Antonee Robinson's stats vs Liverpool (Whoscored)
4 Tackles
13 Interceptions
4 Clearances
1 assist (for Harry Wilson's equaliser, 24th minute)
2 Shots
1 Dribble
40 Passes
Keeping Mohamed Salah quiet is no easy task, but Robinson did just that to prove that he is more than capable of making such a move to Anfield.
Everton couldn't quite muster up another draw or win against Manchester United to keep up a sequence of positive results, Sean Dyche's Toffees unbeaten in their last four matches in all competitions before the visit of the Red Devils to Goodison Park.
Erik ten Hag's patchy Red Devils convincingly beat Dyche's side on their travels to nearby Merseyside, an incredible Alejandro Garnacho overhead kick breaking the deadlock in the evening kick-off before Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial traded goals to help their team convincingly win 3-0.
Everton would have a far superior 24 shots on goal to Man United's nine overall, but the visitors were far more clinical when an opportunity fell their way with the home team wasteful throughout on the contrary.
A number of players didn't cover themselves in glory from the game, including usually reliable centre-back presence James Tarkowski, who only won half of his 14 duels as per Sofascore.
But, it was Ukrainian full-back Vitaliy Mykolenko who was notably off the pace compared to his recent displays in a Toffees strip up against the Red Devils – losing possession 14 times during the game, the Man United attackers exploiting weaknesses in the Everton lax backline all match.
Mykolenko's performance vs Man United in numbers
Everton's number 19 had scored in his last two games for Dyche's men before this poor individual display, Mykolenko scoring the opening goal against Crystal Palace in his side's last away game with barely one minute on the clock – the full-back powering a header home from close range after being found in the box by Leeds United loanee Jack Harrison.
Mykolenko would have an opportunity to score up against Ten Hag's Red Devils, but the woodwork would intervene to the dismay of the 24-year-old and the Everton masses watching on from all corners of Goodison Park.
The 24-year-old was also weak when it came to asserting himself in the contest coming up against Man United's plethora of attackers, only winning 50% of his duels in the game.
Moreover, the ex-FC Dynamo Kyiv defender shied away from getting involved going forward in terms of setting up Dominic Calvert-Lewin eager for a ball into the box – not attempting a single cross all game, instead hitting four shots off target in a frustrating afternoon for the left-back.
It led to Liverpool Echo journalist Chris Beesley giving the Ukrainian defender a 5/10 rating for his efforts, stating that he "produced some encouraging flashes" but had nothing to show for it come full-time.
Mykolenko will hope he can get back to his best in Everton's league encounter versus Nottingham Forest next weekend, a one-off blip in an otherwise sterling season for the Toffees' number 19.
Vitaliy Mykolenko's season in numbers
Mykolenko had been a shining star amongst all the mess at Everton recently, another source of goals even from defence with top performances commonplace for the new Toffees fan favourite in the new Premier League season.
The left-back's tireless energy on the ball has seen him average 5.7 ball recoveries per game this campaign, alongside successfully winning 3.8 tackles per match too.
The die-hard Toffees fanbase will hope that Mykolenko and the rest of the disheartened group fielded by Dyche for this 3-0 loss can shrug off this defeat quickly, Everton needing unity at this point in time with the recent ten-point deduction hurting everyone involved with the club and plunging them into a relegation battle.
Mykolenko will be eager to get back to his best in the Forest away game next up, Dyche's men needing to get back on track with more points on the board sooner rather than later to begin mounting an escape out of the dreaded drop-zone.
Manchester United are enduring a torrid start to the campaign, and thus Erik ten Hag is seemingly already looking ahead to January in an effort to fix their ever-increasing issues…
Who could Manchester United sign in January?
Wallowing in tenth and in very serious danger of a group-stage Champions League exit, things have hardly gone to plan for the former Ajax head coach, who is seeing some of his key stars wilt where they previously shone last year.
The likes of Casemiro and Marcus Rashford are both underperforming, with the latter in particular finding the net just once in all competitions so far this season.
Should his age truly be catching up with him, perhaps it is time to start investing in a successor, with there arguably being no better value option on the market than Royal Antwerp's Arthur Vermeeren, available for just £15m and of interest to the Red Devils among many other of Europe's elite.
Arthur Vermeeren
Having shone in Belgium for the last 18 months, there is scope for him to move to England and instantly dominate, given he boasts all the physical and technical qualities needed for success.
Who is Arthur Vermeeren?
Starting 23 times in the Pro League last term, it is actually his start to the new campaign that is now catching the eye, with the 18-year-old a key creative presence in the engine room despite operating as a steadfast and solid number six.
Across just ten appearances this term he already boasts three assists, whilst also averaging an 88% pass accuracy alongside 1.6 key passes, 1.8 tackles and 8.3 ball recoveries per game, via Sofascore.
Given the ease with which he has taken to senior football, it should come as no surprise that Football Talent Scout Jacek Kulig has rushed to praise him on a number of occasions. He would first write: "He plays like a 30-year-old with plenty of games at the pro level. High-quality midfield controller," before then branding him: "One of the most complete young midfielders in Europe."
To further emphasise his outstanding quality across almost every facet of the game, the teenage enforcer also stars when compared against those in the next 14 divisions similar to the Pro League, as he sits in the top 18% for progressive passes per 90, the top 17% for tackles per 90 and the top 16% for interceptions per 90 amongst a sea of other green figures, via FBref.
Such consistency in someone so young could arguably have seen Vermeeren even surpass Alejandro Garnacho, who may be Ten Hag's best young protégée now, but could quickly be usurped.
After all, whilst the Argentine boasts blistering speed and does have an eye for a goal, his record of just six goals in 45 senior appearances is hardly mesmerising, with his boss even suggesting his form had been "not good enough" to start the new season.
Although he too is just 19 years old, Vermeeren is not only one year his junior, but actually has four more senior appearances for Royal Antwerp than the former Atletico Madrid flyer, needing no time to acclimatise to the increase in level, but simply starring from the start. Starring in midfield too, is arguably an area where greater maturity is needed.
With the engine room being a particular area in need of desperate revamp too, perhaps Ten Hag could solve all of his issues with a January swoop for a talent who could easily surpass his current outstanding youngster.
Derby County are set to discover the extent of an injury to one of their first-team players this week, according to reports.
What's the latest injury news at Derby?
Paul Warne currently has Conor Hourihane, Tyreece John-Jules, Joe Ward, Liam Thompson and Jake Rooney out of action on the sidelines, but whilst the boss is missing five of his senior stars, he has recently been handed a boost over another ace set to return.
Max Bird has been absent from the last five games in League One with an ankle injury, but reports have claimed that he is expected to return to training on Monday as he prepares to stage his comeback, but unfortunately, someone else is ready to take his place in the treatment room.
Since joining the club on a season-long loan from Sunderland over the summer, Elliot Embleton has so far made two appearances for the Rams, though it seems like he won’t be making his third anytime soon having sustained a concerning injury at Moor Farm.
On Friday, the attacking midfielder pulled his quad in training which meant he was ruled out of the 2-0 third-tier victory over Carlisle United on Saturday afternoon, and the manager has now delivered an update on the fitness of the 24-year-old.
How long is Elliot Embleton out for?
Speaking to the media over the weekend, Warne confirmed that Embleton will travel for a scan to find out how serious his injury is. As quoted by the Derby Telegraph, he said:
"It is disappointing. We've built Elliot up really slowly, he's done his rehab and we've built his minutes up. He played on Tuesday night, had a recovery day Wednesday, had a light session Thursday, and a light session Friday. He took a set-piece, the fourth corner he had taken, and felt something in his quad so it's hugely disappointing.
"In my career, I've never seen anybody pull anything taking a corner and it was right at the end of the session. You feel for Elliot first and foremost. He's worked really hard to get himself into a position to play and then that happens. He was heartbroken. He will have a scan on Monday and see where we go from there."
Derby County manager Paul Warne.
How good is Elliot Embleton?
Whilst Embleton has only made two outings for Derby, Warne will know that he is an “aggressive” player, as described by journalist Josh Bunting, therefore, it will be a huge blow for the manager to not have him available for however long he is set to be on the sidelines for.
The Durham-born talent, who earns £5.3k-per-week, has posted 46 contributions (24 goals and 22 assists) in 194 appearances since the start of his career, whilst ranking in the 94th percentile for shots and number of attacking touches in the opposition’s penalty area.
Alongside his ability to pose a threat in the final third, Embleton is also a versatile operator having been deployed in seven different positions since first bursting onto the scene, including everywhere across the midfield and even as a second striker and at centre-forward, so the boss will be hoping that he can return to action as soon as possible.
Ian Botham has been a tireless crusader for cancer research for near on three decades. His 14th charity walk for the cause ends today
Alan Gardner21-Apr-2012Walking may not seem like the most challenging of activities for a champion sportsman. As a player, Ian Botham batted and bowled like a man in a hurry to get the job done quickly (and he often did). Off the field his antics were the antithesis of sedate. But it was for his charity fund-raising, as much as his cricketing feats, that he was elevated to Sir Ian in 2007, and these days walking is as much a part of the “Beefy” brand as Headingley ’81 and his commentary role with Sky.Botham, however, is no stroller. It quickly became apparent when I joined him in Norwich for the eighth leg of Beefy’s Great British Walk, that the drive and determination that characterised his playing career are still present. Early on, as the party set out through the city centre, someone mentioned that the pace (a brisk 4.5mph, on average) was quite testing. “We’re not even warmed up yet,” Botham growled, eyes shielded behind sunglasses, back hunched against the elements.It is 27 years since Botham first marched from John O’Groats to Lands End in aid of Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research, an undertaking inspired by an encounter as a 22-year-old playing for Somerset with children suffering from terminal blood cancer in a Taunton hospital. In that time he has completed 14 charity walks, covering almost 10,000 miles and raising more than £13 million. Correspondingly, the survival rate for children suffering from the most common form of leukaemia has risen from 20% to almost 93%. But he won’t be stopping yet.”The walks are ultimately about one thing and only one thing, and that’s to raise money to go into leukaemia and lymphoma research,” he says. “I’m a competitive person, so if I set out to do something there’s no point in falling short of that mark. I can’t get to 100% survival rate, but I know I can get close to it. We still have major problems with the adult forms of the disease but as we’ve made that many inroads into this form of blood cancer, we believe that somewhere along the line it’s going to open doors to other forms. So there’s a massive incentive for us to keep going, and that’s what we’ll do.”The walks are a family operation, with four generations present on this one. Botham’s daughter Sarah is the coordinator, having taken over from wife Kath. A hardcore of friends and neighbours trudged through the April showers for Beefy’s cause – such as “Big Gaz”, who tagged along to walk with Botham “for ten minutes” when he was a teenager in 1992 and is still a regular participant. A motley selection of celebs, such as Olympic decathlete Daley Thompson, former Norwich footballer Jeremy Goss, and Spandau Ballet drummer John Keeble, also swelled the numbers.
Early on, as the party set out through the city centre, someone mentioned that the pace (a brisk 4.5mph, on average) was quite testing. “We’re not even warmed up yet,” Botham growled
The lead-out car played regimental band music and there was a certain amount of pomp and circumstance to the procession, so much so that in Cardiff a bystander asked if they were doing a practice run for the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee. Even in suburban and then rural Norfolk, plenty of people came to their front doors or wound down the car window in order to donate, while labourers at a burger van nodded in recognition. As we passed by the waterways of Wroxham, boat builders left their workshops and ladies both young and old stopped to smile and wave – but then Botham always did know how to charm the broads.A few miles from the end, the team were joined by a collection of local walkers and fundraisers who wanted to meet the man himself, although the effect was more of them being sucked into Botham’s wake as he barrelled through, his speed slackening only to exchange a few handshakes and pats on the back.It is his cricketing celebrity that fuels the pavement-pounding charity drive, and Botham acknowledges the latter could not exist without the former. At the walk’s conclusion he sat with his feet up on a stool, an ice pack on his knee, signing autographs and posing for photographs in avuncular fashion. A local brewery had provided the ale – named Give It Some Humpty, after Botham’s typically no-nonsense remark to Graham Dilley – and a band playing in the background gave the afternoon an almost festival feel, rain and mud included. You could call it Beefstock.”Cricket is the springboard,” Botham said. “I think a lot of people enjoyed the way I played the game and that’s reflected a little bit in the amount of people we’re seeing turning out.”He is, of course, still a vocal commentator on the fortunes of the England team – and to say Botham has trenchant opinions is a bit like observing that tractors have big wheels. He was not perturbed by members of the South Africa side, such as Vernon Philander and Alviro Petersen, gaining experience of English conditions while playing county cricket but described the length of the series between what is likely to be the two best Test teams in the world (England host South Africa for three Tests this summer) as “ridiculous”.Botham was also confident the 4-1 reverse over the winter, in Test series against Pakistan and Sri Lanka, was merely a blip and that England’s current leader is the right man for the job, describing criticism of Andrew Strauss as “a load of baloney”.”I don’t have any problems with Strauss, I think he should be England captain,” he says. “He hasn’t scored a hundred for a while, so he has to answer some questions; it goes with the territory. But Strauss and Andy Flower have got England to No. 1, we’re still No. 1. We didn’t have a very good winter by our standards, let’s put that behind us and move on.”This latest expedition will be behind Botham too, with their final leg due in London on Saturday. Then he will go fishing, the competitive flames doubtless stoked once again. He is already making plans for a fundraiser to coincide with his 60th birthday – which will also mark the 30 years since his first walk – though he will not be drawn on them yet. Call it a shortened run-up if you like, but Botham is still charging in.