Liam Botham

The expectations on Liam Botham were immense from the moment he was photographed with a cricket bat in his hands as a toddler, and his father told reporters that Liam was `"a cheeky bugger who reckons he is going to be better than his old man''. He had a successful career in the Rossall side, and when he took five wickets - including Mike Gatting - on his Hampshire debut aged 18 the newspapers heralded the second coming. But he realised that he was never going to match his father's achievements, and he soon ditched cricket for rugby - initially union and latterly league. In 1997 he played rugby union for England U21s, and for some time it seemed he might throw his lot in with Wales after joining Cardiff. In 2002-03 he signed for Leeds on a dual code basis, but his career was cut short by a serious neck injury.
Martin Williamson