Cricket legend Ian “Beefy” Botham recently shared a close call he had during a fishing trip in Darwin, Australia. The 68-year-old was out on a four-day adventure with fellow cricket star Merv Hughes, and the trip almost ended in disaster.

The pair were fishing for barramundi, and on the final day, Botham tripped when his thong (flip-flop) got caught in a boat rope. While trying to step from their smaller fishing boat onto a larger vessel, known as the ‘mothership’, Botham lost his balance and fell straight into the Moyle River. This river is notorious for being home to crocodiles and bull sharks, which often lurk beneath the surface.

To make matters worse, a group of bull sharks had been feeding on scraps right under their boat when the fall happened. As Botham hit the water, he injured himself but managed to escape what could have been a deadly situation.

Thanks to the fast reflexes of Hughes and others on the boat, Botham was quickly pulled out of the water before any of the dangerous predators could reach him. Reflecting on the event, Botham remarked, “I was out of the water faster than I went in. There were quite a few sets of eyes watching me, but thankfully I didn’t have time to think about it.” He added that everyone acted swiftly, and although it happened quickly, he’s doing fine now.

Afterward, Botham shared pictures from the trip on Instagram. He humorously captioned one post with, “My catch of the day was the barra, but I nearly became the catch of the day for all the crocs and bull sharks. Thanks to the boys for getting me out.”

Luckily, Botham only suffered from some bruising after the fall. The cricket legend is in Australia for the cricket season, where he will join Merv Hughes in providing commentary.

Botham is widely regarded as one of cricket’s greatest all-rounders, with an impressive career that included scoring over 5,200 runs and taking 383 wickets in Test matches. He famously helped lead England to five Ashes victories and was knighted in 2007 for his contributions to the sport.