Sir Ian Botham picks his 356th Test wicket

Ian Terrence Botham - a cricketer constantly in the news for his exploits on the field and off it as well. On 21st October 1986, Ian Botham became the world’s highest wicket taker in Tests, surpassing Dennis Lillee of Australia. At the Oval against New Zealand, the former Somerset all-rounder made a dramatic return to Test cricket by picking up a wicket off his first ball and then picking another off the last ball of his second over to overtake Dennis Lillee's record of 355 wickets.Jeff Crowe was trapped plumb in front.
This feat happened against the backdrop of a couple of interesting years in Botham's career. In 1985, he quit Somerset in protest against the county's sacking of Vivian Richards and Joel Garner. The following year, he was banned from cricket for over two months by the English cricket board after he admitted to taking cannabis on the West Indies tour that summer. Thereby, Botham became the first cricketer to be suspended for drug use and bringing the game to disrepute.
His exploits on the field made him a superstar and his mistakes off it reminded us he is human; with over 5000 runs and 383 wickets, he was one of the finest all-rounders of the game. Botham retired after playing 102 Tests and 116 one-dayers in the summer of 1992. He was knighted for his services to cricket and charity on in October 2007.