Norman Botton

Norman Denis Botton (born 21 January 1954) is a former English first-class cricketer.

Born at Hammersmith, Botton attended Hertford College, Oxford.[1] While studying at Oxford, Botton played first-class cricket for Oxford University. His debut came against Leicestershire at Oxford in 1974. He played first-class cricket for Oxford until 1975, making fourteen appearances.[2] In his fourteen matches, he scored a total of 272 runs at an average of 12.36 and with a high score of 38 not out.[3] With his left-arm medium pace bowling, he took 11 wickets at a bowling average of 64.90, with best figures of 2 for 53.[4] He also made a single first-class appearance for a combined Oxford and Cambridge Universities cricket team against the touring West Indians in 1974.[2]

After graduating from Oxford, Botton became a schoolteacher. Prior to his retirement, he was the head of history at Monkton Combe School.[5] Botton continued to play cricket long after the conclusion of his brief first-class career, featuring for the Somerset Over-50s and Over-60s.[6] However, severe osteoarthritis which restricted his ability to walk made it impossible to play cricket. In 2013, Botton received a hip replacement and within ten months he was playing cricket once more, resulting in him being selected to play for the England Over-60s on their 2016 tour of Australia.[5]