Ian Botham and his mother-in-law

I've been coming across references to this every now and then.

It starts in the early eighties, 1983, to be precise. Ian Botham had problems with his knee after the first test in Pakistan and left the country "muttering, infamously 'Pakistan is the sort of place every man should send his mother-in-law to, for a month, all expenses made.'" (Osman Samiuddin A tumultuous past).

Nine years later, Botham was allegedly asked by Aamir Sohail to "send in his mother-in-law" after being dismissed in the final match against Pakistan.

This year he turned 50 and celebrated in Pakistan while he was part of the commentary team there for the England tour. He seems to be a changed man. Not only was he qouted to have said "It was a vibrant city, an excellent hotel, a big ground and a fantastic atmosphere. What was there to be scared of?" while pondering over reasons England had for their huge loss in the Karachi fixture, he was also reported to have travelled back to England for a few days in the middle of the tour in an emergency, to visit, it turned out later, an ailing mother-in-law. Wish her the best of health.