A single tweet from the 58-year-old Sky Sports presenter, featuring an explicit and up-close shot of a man's genitalia, triggered a mixed response of amusement and horror on the social network.
I see Ian Botham trending. Worried he's had a heart attack or something. Even worse, I see a picture of his middle stump.
— Alternative Cricket (@AltCricket) August 18, 2014Botham insists his Twitter account was hacked and that the dangling shot didn't feature his own middle stump.
Botham entering your DMs. pic.twitter.com/jvquIpaG20
— Gawge (@Gawge) August 18, 2014Always the optimist, Botham wrote in his Mirror newspaper column that the whole cock-up had gifted him more followers.
I would like to thank the hacker....I've just got 500 hits in 20mins !!
— Ian Botham (@BeefyBotham) August 18, 2014"I've played a few jokes in my time, but this was pathetic."
"But if some keyboard warrior has nothing better to do than post silly pictures, more fool them. The only impact it has had on me bizarrely is to give me more followers - strange."
quick update on Ian Botham's dick and balls pic.twitter.com/D5X09hpeGd
— Joel Golby (@joelgolby) August 18, 2014Let's hope none of us have to see this penis, whoever owns it, ever again.