• Source:JND
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England's legendary all-rounder Ian Botham got his life saved in a thrilling manner as he was recently rescued from a fall into the crocodile-infested Moyle River by his former Ashes rival Merv Hughes.

Botham went through a rather unpleasant scare while fishing in Australia during his four-day fishing trip with former Australian cricketer Merv Hughes in Australia's Northern Territory.

Having been part of multiple matches for their respective teams during Ashes, cricket's oldest rivalry, over the years, Botham and Hughes provided a heartfelt gesture, showing the friendly camaraderie between the English and Australian players off the field.

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According to multiple reports, Botham tripped on a rope on his boat and fell into the river beside him.

To make it worse, he was completely surrounded by crocodiles and bull sharks as well.

In one of the most thrilling experiences, Botham was rescued out of the water soon enough before any more damage could be done.

“I was out of the water quicker than I went in it. Quite a few sets of eyes were having a peep at me,” Botham said.

“Luckily I had no time to think about what was in the water.”

The 68-year-old ended up getting big bruises and scars on his body due to the incident.

“The guys were brilliant, it was just one of those accidents,” Botham said. “It was all very quick and I’m OK now.”

Notably, Botham and Hughes gained limelight for their on-field clashes during the Ashes in the 1980s. Botham had clubbed Hughes for 22 runs in an over, a then-record in the contest.

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“It got ugly when Botham made 22 runs from a single over, scoring 2, 2, 4, 6, 4 and 4 off me. I am embarrassed to say it was a record for the most runs off an over in an Ashes Test. I would check the record books, desperately hoping some poor soul had been worse, and while I found there was once 24 scored off an over, it was from an eight-ball over,” Hughes would later tell in the book ‘The Match of My Life: The Ashes’.

The 62-year-old played 53 Tests for Australia, snapping up 212 wickets across a nine-year career.

Besides their on-field cricketing clashes, Botham and Hughes have been buddies since their retirements.