Sydney Morning Herald, http://www.smh.com.au, Dec 7th 2010
England’s thumping of Australia in the second Ashes Test nearly sparked a different type of thumping between veteran cricket rivals Ian Botham and Ian Chappell in Adelaide.
The English knight and the Aussie had to be dragged apart after reportedly clashing in the Adelaide Oval car park.
The two men, who are said not to have spoken to each other since 1980 despite being regular cricket commentators at the same events, squared up as Botham waited to be picked to go to the airport, Britain’s Daily Mail reported.
Chappell, from Channel Nine, “muttered something highly provocative as he went past”, reported the paper, and Botham, from Sky, snapped: “What did you say?”
They dropped their bags and “went for each other” before being separated by their colleagues from Channel Nine and Sky.
“It could have got very nasty if there hadn’t been people on hand to keep them apart,” a Channel Nine source was reported as telling the Mail.
“They reacted quickly because we all know the history between these two. They might be aged 55 and 67, but neither of them are the type of people to give an inch in the face of conflict.”
Vaguely similar to The Sharp Single’s “It is Written” Dec 30 2009:
Brisbane…
Ian Botham arrested pending inquiries into an alleged incident in the bar afterwards which leaves 6 members of the Aussie press corps needing treatment. Four (empty) cases of Shiraz and a cricket stump are bagged and sent to forenics.
The Sharp Single 
Hands off our bloody pensioners, Beefy. Your whinging commentary (and even Poms complain about your whinging) are boring, repetitive and self-serving. We get it: nothing is as good as when you played, nobody is as good as you. You are a plonker, even if you could play a bit.
God, if you blot out the memory that the topic is cricket, you come away feeling certain Simon has just called Mikie an American.
substitute nasser bloody hussain for beefy in your rant and you’d be spot on i.m.h.o.