In his heyday in the 1980s, Ian Botham became the first English cricketer to have an entourage: a gofer-cum-minder, a few select team-mates, fishing pals and even one or two trusted pressmen. There was also a court jester, a talkative fellow known to the gang as “Loon”.
This was David English, who has died aged 76 after a heart attack. He arguably did as much as anyone to promote cricket in England over the next 30-odd years, except perhaps Botham himself.
