Ian Botham was fishing along with Hughes in Moyle River near Darwin, Australia.
Botham, 68, was on a four-day fishing trip with his former Ashes opponent when things turned dangerous. The tragedy occurred on the Moyle River, about 200 kilometers south of Darwin, while Botham and Hughes were fishing for barramundi.
While attempting to travel between boats, his footwear hooked on a rope, forcing him to tumble and crash hard, resulting in severe bruises and a close encounter with a saltwater crocodile.
“At the end of the day, Crocodile Beefy survived. I was out of the water quicker than I went in. Quite a few sets of [crocodile] eyes were having a peep at me. Luckily I had no time to think about what was in the water. The guys were brilliant, it was just one of those accidents. It was all very quick and I'm OK now,” Botham was quoted by the Independent.
Ian Botham and Merv Hughes shared a healthy rivalry during their playing days. This included an infamous incident when Botham hit Hughes for 22 runs in an over during an Ashes Test in the 1980s.
Botham played for England from 1976-1992 and appeared in 102 Tests and 116 ODIs. He made 5200 runs with 14 centuries and picked 383 wickets with a best of 8/34. In ODIs, Botham made 2113 runs and picked 145 wickets.
On the other hand, Merv Hughes played 53 Tests and 33 ODIs for Australia from 1985 to 1994. He was part of Australia’s 1987 World Cup-winning squad. He picked 212 wickets in Tests and 38 wickets in ODIs.