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Former England cricketer Sir Ian Botham named Scunthorpe president

Ex-England cricketer Sir Ian Botham has been appointed club president of League One side Scunthorpe.

The 62-year-old former all-rounder, who scored more than 7,000 runs and took more than 500 wickets for his country, played 11 times for the club between 1980 and 1985.

Scunthorpe chairman Peter Swann said: "We had a table at the ball to mark his retirement from fundraising walks on Monday. I thought it would be great if we could offer him the opportunity to become Scunthorpe United president. He accepted it without hesitation.

"It's a couple of seasons since we lost John Godfrey [the former president]. We spoke as a board and thought Sir Ian would make an ideal ambassador for us.

"Sir Ian's other work means he's out of the country a lot, but he comes to watch the Iron when he can and also regularly watches on a feed when away. He's always very vocal in his support for the club.''

"He has a great affinity with the Iron and will be a fantastic ambassador for Scunthorpe United.''