Sir Ian Botham will be the guest of honour at Swardeston Cricket Club next year offering unique insights and stories from his time as one of the sport’s all-time greats.

The work to get the former England captain to attend the night, on March 25, all started with a hand-written letter.

Swardeston Cricket Club winning the Thurlow Nunn East Anglian Premier League last year (Image: Swardeston Cricket Club)

Sarah Thomas, who organises social events for the club, said: “I just thought if I don’t ask then I’ll never know if he’d say yes or not.

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“I’m a bit of a traditionalist so I wrote him a letter and at first I didn’t hear anything but in August, out of the blue, his wife Kathy Botham contacted me.

Former England cricket captain, Sir Ian Botham, will be the guest of honour at the Swardeston dinner event in March 2025 (Image: PA)

“We’re over the moon about it and the club is quite giddy to be honest.”

Stuart Bartram, chairman of Swardeston Cricket Club, added: “We’re honoured to welcome Lord Botham to our annual cricket dinner and look forward to him entertaining us.”

Tickets are available through Sarah on swardestoncc@yahoo.com or 07875 309641 with all money raised going back into the club.

Money raised from the dinner, on March 25, will go back into the club’s facilities and youth training (Image: Swardeston Cricket Club)