Cricket World Cup 2019 tour diary: At Southampton’s Ageas Bowl, Beefy’s restaurant remembers the legacy of Sir Ian Botham

Botham did not play for Hampshire, but such is his popularity and legend in English cricket that he has a restaurant named after him here.

Situated on the ground floor of the Hilton at The Ageas Bowl, a 17-bedroom hotel located inside the home of Hampshire County Cricket Club in Southampton, is a restaurant and bar with a familiar name: Beefy’s.

For cricket fans, the name immediately associates with the nickname of one of the greatest English cricketers, Sir Ian Botham, associated forever with that great all-round quartet of the 1980s, alongside Sir Richard Hadlee, Kapil Dev and Imran Khan.

Beefy’s, inspired by the exploits of Botham, is a spacious restaurant and bar with many photos of the great England allrounder. Adorning the walls to the right of the bar section are framed photographs – many autographed – of Botham during his days playing for England and the several counties he represented: Somerset, Durham and Worcestershire.

No Hampshire?

That’s correct. Botham did not play for Hampshire, but such is his popularity and legend in English cricket that he has a restaurant named after him.

His son Liam Botham, however, played three first-class games and one List A match for Hampshire in 1996, but aborted his cricket career at an early age and later played rugby for Cardiff.

On the menu are two items named after Botham – an 8oz ‘Beefy’s’ burger and a ‘Beefy’s’ house salad, apart from ‘Bothams for Both’ chateaubriand wine.