England cricketing great Ian Botham was saved by his former Ashes rival Merv Hughes after a fall into crocodile-infested waters while on a fishing trip in northern Australia.

Affectionately known as ‘Beefy’, Botham was on the four-day trip with Aussie cricket great Merv Hughes. They were catching barramundi and Botham, now 68, tripped when his thong caught the boat rope. It was the final day of the trip and and they were crossing from the the boat back to the ‘mothership’.

Almost 150 years of cricket’s fiercest rivalry, the Ashes, has been put on hold. All it took was for one of England’s greatest players, Lord Ian Botham, to find himself in mortal danger in crocodile-infested waters.

On seeing the news about Ian Botham and a river full of deadly Australian predators, one felt like echoing the words of another England cricketer: “Beefy, who writes your scripts?”

Ian Botham rescued from crocodile-infested waters by old pal Merv Hughes - The accident occurred while the pair were on a boat in Australia.