Manchester United shirt Sammy McIlroy gave to Lord Botham sells for £23,000 at auction

​McIlroy wore the shirt in the 1977 Charity Shield match between United and Liverpool at Wembley in August 1977.

It was the highest-priced lot in a sale of souvenirs sold by former cricketer Lord Botham.

The shirt, which had a pre-sale estimate of £3,000, had been given to Botham by McIlroy.

Prized souvenirs from Lord Botham’s illustrious playing career, including mementoes from the 1981 Ashes win, went under the hammer.

As part of the collection, the former England all-rounder sold the ball with which he took five Australian wickets in the 1981 Ashes.

The red ball, which was given to Botham by one of the umpires following the match at Edgbaston, sold for £20,000.

Meanwhile, an original cricket stump from the previous match at Headingley, which was taken as a souvenir after the match by Botham and has ‘Headingley 81’ marked in ink on the base, sold for £11,000.

An inscribed Man Of The Match medal from the 1981 Headingley match was also one of the best-selling items of the collection, going under the hammer for more than double the pre-sale estimate at £19,000.

In total, Botham sold more than 200 mementoes from across his career at The Oval cricket ground in south London as part of Knights Sporting Auctions – having decided to sell the items as part of a move to downsize, it was reported.

His BBC Sports Personality Of The Year lifetime achievement award from 2004 sold for £3,600.