![Ian Botham hits out at the bowling of Geoff Lawson during his 149* in the second innings of the third Ashes Test in 1981.](https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2021/07/GettyImages-1183275729_1626796405-Read-Only-scaled.jpeg)
History
The darker side of Britain’s golden summer
Images of Ian Botham with his bat aloft and the pageantry of the Royal Wedding have created a popular memory of 1981 as a summer of national pride for Britain. But the reality was quite different