Cricket: Botham eschews the high life for once

Sir Ian Botham. Photo / Getty Images

Sir Ian Botham has walked the length of Great Britain, crossed Asia on elephants and strode thousands more kilometres in the name of charity - but the English cricket legend found the temporary stairs at Seddon Park beyond him yesterday.

Botham refused to commentate for England's Sky Television network during the second one-day international between New Zealand and England because we was unwilling to work in a temporary studio positioned on temporary scaffolding about 30-metres above a grass embankment.

He arrived at the match venue to discover the commentary position was the fourth and highest level of the temporary media facilities - a structure needed to accommodate the number of English journalists and broadcasters covering the two month long tour.

"I don't do heights. I'll go in helicopters and planes but they're meant to fly - commentary boxes aren't," Botham told the Press Association.

Instead he took up a commentary position located in the main pavilion to help out with reports to Sky's London studio as well as providing commentary for New Zealand television.

Fellow former internationals Mike Atherton and Nasser Hussain scaled the heights and reported feeling "queasy" while the structure "was a bit wobbly" when the wind got up.

England return to Hamilton for the first of three tests against New Zealand on March 5, by which time Botham's broadcaster is expected to be positioned closer to ground level.

- NZPA