Beefy - still bitter, 15 years on...

...not to mention homophobic. You Poms must be so proud.



Sir Ian's beef over 'Queen'



Phil Lutton
September 27, 2007 - 3:06PM

Time heals all wounds. Except if you're Ian Botham reminiscing about his famous dinner walk-out before the 1992 cricket World Cup final in Melbourne.

Botham and Graham Gooch created a mini-storm when they strode out mid-meal on the eve of the World Cup decider against Pakistan at the MCG, taking offence to Australian comedian Gerry Connolly's impersonation of the Queen.

Connolly was on stage joking the royal family was to be privatised and sponsored by Fosters when the pair strode back to the pavilion, leaving team-mates and a shocked audience in their wake.

Fifteen years later, Botham's beef with the comic shows no signs of subsiding. The legendary all-rounder now says he never wanted to attend the gala dinner in the first place and described Connolly as "some poofter gay guy".

"It would never happen now on the eve of a World Cup final. Paraded in, sat down - really don't want to be there. Got my mind a million miles away," a grumpy Botham told UK sports history website http://www.sportasylum.co.uk.

"World Cup final, 1992, last game I'm going to play, big game in a big arena, retire the following summer ... and I'm there and I've got some poofter gay guy comes on stage in drag with a stuffed corgi under his arm and takes the piss out of the Queen.
"Why should I put up with that? If it was done the other way around and he came in with a turban on his head and took the mickey out of the Pakistan team it would be called racism."

Gooch, also featured in the video piece, presented a more conciliatory tone, saying he was upset at the time but the incident was "no massive deal".

"At this particular time before the World Cup final I just thought it was in bad taste and the wrong moment and I just didn't want to listen to it," Gooch said.

"Neither did Ian Botham, so we just got up at this dinner and walked straight out across the floor in front of everybody. It caused a bit of a minor ruck in the press.

"Most of our team stayed but we didn't so we left. I was pretty upset about it, I have to say, at the time. I don't think I was in good taste but it was no massive deal."

Connolly's parody of the royals came on the heels of then Prime Minister Paul Keating's high-profile gaff when he put his hand of the Queen's back during her visit to Australia, earning him the moniker "Lizard of Oz" in the British press.

An unrepentant Connolly was later quoted as saying: "They left before I got to the really mean bits."

Check out Beefy's spray here. http://www.sportasylum.com/page/CricketVideoArchiveDetail/0,,10301~1009874,00.html

Aye, moaning about a few light hearted comments, the silly sod.

http://www.sportinglife.com/cricket/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=cricket/06/02/07/CRICKET_Tufnell.html

Good for Beefy.
He never were one to "mince" his words ....

I'm no Royalist - far from - but jebesus, if a guy feels that way, WTF should anyone question his motive or intention.

He took a dislike to the show - regardless of gay poof in drag, whatever ... - and he walked out.
So farking what?

Gary 111 wrote:Aye, moaning about a few light hearted comments, the silly sod.

http://www.sportinglife.com/cricket/news/story_get.cgi?STORY_NAME=cricket/06/02/07/CRICKET_Tufnell.html

Noice one Gazza.

I agree, Merlo. Good for Beefy.

If he's happy to look silly in public, that's his call. I got a chuckle out of reading the above article, anyway.

Leo wrote:I agree, Merlo. Good for Beefy.

If he's happy to look silly in public, that's his call. I got a chuckle out of reading the above article, anyway.

Now checkout Garry111's website for another chuckle!

So, both Australian and English cricketers are humourless and bitter pieces of ****. Got it.

doremi wrote:So, some Australian and English cricketers are humourless and bitter pieces of ****. Got it.

Fixed, and aye.

doremi wrote:So, both Australian and English cricketers are humourless and bitter pieces of ****. Got it.

Have you only just this second reached that conclusion doremi?!!
Blimey mate - where have you been since Bradman hit the headlines?!

doremi wrote:So, both Australian and English cricketers are humourless and bitter pieces of ****. Got it.

Not everyone can be a barrel of laughs like Ganguly and Shoaib.

taipan wrote:

doremi wrote:So, both Australian and English cricketers are humourless and bitter pieces of ****. Got it.

Not everyone can be a barrel of laughs like Ganguly and Shoaib.

You have grossly underestimated Sehwag.

Merlin wrote:

Leo wrote:I agree, Merlo. Good for Beefy.

If he's happy to look silly in public, that's his call. I got a chuckle out of reading the above article, anyway.

Now checkout Garry111's website for another chuckle!

It would be funny if the Ponting (who is a sook I will admit) was still pissed off in 2021.

JGK wrote:

It would be funny if the Ponting (who is a sook I will admit) was still pissed off in 2021.

2012 you mean ?

Oh, he will be. Just ask Neil Harvey.

Well Lawry and Chapelli are still bitter about 1970