IAN BOTHAM yesterday hinted that he had been set up after the

discovery, by police investigating reports of a robbery, of a substance

believed to be cannabis at a house he was renting,

A window was broken but nothing was taken.

The cricketer was sharing the house in Poole, Dorset, with his

manager, Mr David Willams, while appearing in pantomime in Bournemouth.

Both men have been questioned by police and Mr Botham has moved to a

different address.

As he arrived yesterday at the Pavilion Theatre Mr Botham was asked by

reporters ''Have you been set up?''

He replied: ''All my stuff was in there, but nothing was touched. You

can draw your own conclusions from that, but you don't have to be

Einstein to work this one out, do you?''

Two weeks before the break-in Mr Botham was told to get out of town

after reports in the local newspaper that he described Bournemouth as

''boring'' during rehearsals.

He was later booed by panto-goers on his first night on stage.

CID Detective Inspector Chris Dennis said yesterday: ''We are keeping

an open mind.''