Botham backs Brexit campaign

England cricketing great Ian Botham declared his support on Sunday for the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union in a June referendum.

'Cricket is a game where you achieve the greatest success when you are confident in your own ability to go out and stand proud. Britain has that spirit,' he wrote in the Sunday Times newspaper.

Botham, one of England's greatest all-rounders, condemned what he said was the waste of taxpayers' money by the EU institutions.

'It is time to reclaim our basic sovereignty, the power to decide for ourselves. This proud trading nation must take back control from the bureaucrats in Brussels and make our way in the world again, with confidence,' he wrote.