Cricket legend Lord Ian Botham has paid testament to the likes of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum - saying they helped to save test cricket.
The retired England and Somerset all-rounder said the pair had helped “put bums back on seats”.
The 68-year-old revealed his thoughts on the modern game in an interview with ex-England cricketer Geoff Miller OBE at Champions (UK) plc’s ‘An Evening with Lord Ian Botham’ event.
Beefy said: “I think the modern game is great, but test cricket needed an injection.
England icon Lord Ian Botham says Test cricket can't be allowed to die
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“Now, because of certain game types, it’s become a slogathon which is just boring for me.
"You look at test cricket however, you’ve got players like Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, two very positive guys who decided ‘we’re going to play attacking cricket’.
“Consequently, what do they do? They smash 700 in a day, which no one has ever done before in test cricket.
"We win games, suddenly there’s bums on seats. All games in England now sold out over five days, and India and Australia they’re filling up too.
“The thing is, though, if the boys hadn't done that, test cricket as we know and love would die and disappear.
"And that can't happen. We mustn't let it.”
Across a number of sports, the introduction of video assisted refereeing has been a hot topic of discussion for years.
]Cricket’s version, DRS, allows players to ask whether there is enough evidence to overturn an on-field decision.
The frequency of use has been called into question, and Botham said he has similar frustrations.
Lord Ian Botham has hailed England duo Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum
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He continued: “It's like football, I'm getting bored watching VAR and DRS. It's just a nonsense way to slow the whole game down.
“Get on with it, let the referee do his job. And if there's a howler, then let DRS and VAR intervene. But not every tackle. Not every time the ball goes, every time there's a goal.
“I'm saying it’s for the howler, but not to intervene after every ball. You get something terribly wrong, then use the technology, but don't use it every ball. Otherwise you might as well take umpires and referees out.”
Lord Ian Botham wants technology in sports to be used less frequently
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Across an incredibly accomplished career, Botham has been hailed as one of the most renowned all-round players in the sport’s lengthy history.
When asked how he wanted to be remembered, he iterated: “I honestly don't know. I had a saying from about 16 years of age: when anything goes wrong, you ride the torpedo to the end of the tube. This can be translated to, don’t look behind you at what's happened, learn from it and keep going one way.
“Something along those lines, I guess. And I guess it’s to be known as the guy that loved playing a great game, and being an entertainer, and that's what I wanted to be.”
Botham was speaking at growth consultancy Champions (UK) plc’s ‘An Evening with Lord Ian Botham’ event.
