LETTERS : Botham is a recent `great'

Derek Pringle is wrong to list Len Hutton as one of the great cricketers England has produced since the Second World War ("England rotten to the core", Sport, 1 January). He made his test debut prior to 1939, making his name a year earlier with th at record-breaking score of 364 at the Oval. In fact, for all of Hutton's later achievements, many think that he was never quite the same after a wartime injury which left his left arm shorter than his right.

Your columnist, however, could have listed other "greats" of a more recent vintage than Trueman, Laker or May. I'm thinking of Boycott, and especially Botham and Willis, who helped us to win the 1981 Ashes series.

We might be going through a bad patch, but as a follower of the game for the past 25 years, I can say we have certainly had our moments.

Tim Mickleburgh Grimsby, Lincs