Legendary England cricketer Ian Botham has revived his public disagreement with former England captain Ben Stokes. The former England all-rounder took a fresh swipe at Stokes during the first ODI between England and India at Edgbaston in Birmingham, jokingly welcoming the recently retired cricketer into the “has-beens” club.
โAs we know, Michael Vaughan and Iโฆ We donโt know what weโre talking about. A couple of old has-beens. Ben, if youโre listening, congratulations, youโve joined the club. Youโre now a has-been,โ Botham said, talking about Stokes on the BBC Test Match Special.
Stokes responded to the comment on X, formerly Twitter, by pointing to a quote commonly associated with Botham. โThe quote โIt’s better to be a has-been than a never-been” originates from Lord Ian Botham.โโ
Notably, the latest exchange follows a disagreement that began during England’s Ashes preparations in Perth last November. Botham criticised the team management and especially captain Stokes for playing an internal practice match at a local club, instead of playing a domestic team, such as the Prime Minister’s XI.ย
Stokes wasnโt impressed with Bothamโs comment. He hit back, stating that modern-day players faced circumstances different from those experienced by earlier generations.
โThere are quite a few factors that play into why we can’t prepare the way the has-beens maybe did in the past,โ Stokes said. However, the 35-year-old later clarified that he had misspoken and apologised for the remark.
The bitter relationship and its origin
Botham and Stokes have long shared a professional association. The former served as chairman at Durham, the county where Stokes has spent much of his domestic career. Despite that connection, their differences have increasingly played out in public.
Earlier this year, Botham also questioned Stokes after reports emerged that the former England captain had remained out past midnight following England’s victory over New Zealand at Lord’s. Speaking on the Stick to Cricket podcast, Botham referred to the backing Stokes received from Durham after the Bristol incident in 2017 while criticising his actions.
โSome people just don’t learn. When everything happened in Bristol, the club stood firmly behind him. I was chairman at the time, and everyone supported him. I struggle to understand what happened after the game at Lord’s, especially when you were probably the person responsible for setting the midnight curfew,โ said Botham.
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