ENGLAND cricketers Ian Botham and Allan Lamb began a libel action yesterday against the former Pakistani captain, Imran Khan, for allegedly calling them racist and suggesting they were uneducated and lacked class.
In a packed courtroom in London's High Court, their lawyer told the jury of seven men and five women that Botham also took offence at Imran's allegation that ball tampering was common practice in English cricket.
"Firstly, he called them racists. Secondly, he called them uneducated. And thirdly, he accused them of lacking class and upbringing," said Mr Charles Gray.
South African born Lamb (42), a former England batsman who plays for Northamptonshire, and Botham (40) have brought separate actions against Oxford educated Imran over a 1994 article in the magazine, India Today, in which they allege that he questioned their social backgrounds.
Botham, a former England and Somerset captain, is also suing Imran over a separate story in the Sun, concerning ball tampering.
Imran denies libel, arguing that the articles were not capable of bearing the alleged defamatory meaning.
Besides the personal reputations of three of the world's greatest cricketers, the game itself and the question of tampering - when a bowler illegally scuffs or gouges the ball to give himself an advantage - will be under the spotlight.
In his biography Imran (42) admitted an incident of ball tampering and in subsequent interviews insinuated the biggest names in the game had also done it.
The case, two years in preparation, came to trial after all attempts to settle the dispute out of court failed.
Some of the biggest names in cricket are expected to testify during the case which could last up to 10 days and cost as much as £500,000.