I.T. Botham: A Few Highlights

Martin Chandler | 9:01am BST 07 April 2024

Published: 1993
Pages: 4
Author: Rosenwater, Irving
Publisher: Private
Rating: 3.5 stars

Some booklets are bulkier than others, and this one is about as minimalist as you can get. I have referenced four pages, but one of those is the title page and another the limitation page so, in reality, it is just two.

Rosenwater isn’t usually associated with the modern game, which is largely due to the dark and obscure corners of cricket history at which he normally pointed his torch. He clearly had his modern heroes as well however, as this tribute to Ian Botham, published as the great all-rounder left the game, clearly shows.

The title page contains a line from another great character of cricket, Robin Marlar, who I suspect would not always have seen eye to eye with Rosenwater. That the latter therefore showcased a quote from Marlar at a time when both men were in their prime demonstrates great respect. Marlar’s words are;-

He has done things on a cricket field that people will remember for the rest of their lives, and there are not many who have done that.

They are words which those of us who watched Botham’s career, but then got rather tired of him as he stayed in the commentary box a little too long, would do well to heed.

The few highlights are just that. The two main pages of this A4 sized booklet comprise five photographs of Botham in his pomp, four with bat and one with ball, together with fifteen short paragraphs each of which records the facts of one of Botham’s more remarkable performances. And that is it.

It doesn’t sound much but, in truth, it is a compelling and entirely fitting tribute to a great cricketer and, as far as Rosenwaters are concerned, it is one of the trickier titles to acquire the limitation being just 25 copies.