Ian Botham waves to supporters as he walks from the pitch before commentating at the Riverside Cricket ground in Chester-le-Street before the second day of England's fourth Test match of their four Test series against the West Indies, Durham, England. AP

"This burn-out is just a modern word," said one of England's cricketing greats, who was recently knighted for his services to the game.

Botham, who will be one of the TV commentators on the series in South Africa, said winning teams did not get "burn-out".

He was responding to complaints by England bowler Stuart Broad that the players carry too heavy a workload.

England play two Twenty20s, five one-day internationals and four Tests, in addition to warm-up games, during their current tour of South Africa. Early next year, they go to Bangladesh, before heading to the Caribbean for the World Twenty20. They then return home for a series against Bangladesh and Pakistan.

Botham, however, maintains that players have little cause to moan about schedules, considering how well they are paid.

"Analyse the days of cricket these boys play in a year as opposed to the guys who used to play county cricket, as well as international cricket, and went on tours lasting four months," said Botham.

"If you are worried about burn-out in your second year, then that's pretty sad. I suggest you get on and play.

"If you don't want to play international cricket, do you want to go back and play county cricket? I doubt it. You have got the best end of the stick and you get well rewarded."

Botham is worried, though, that too much T20 cricket will turn off the public.

"[Twenty20] is a great game for county cricket. It draws in the youngsters. But look at the viewing figures for some of the Twenty20 tournaments, they have plummeted," he said. "I don't read much into Twenty20s. They shouldn't be played internationally."