Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has slammed England’s batters for their poor shot selection and lack of progress, calling for changes in the playing XI. Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Boycott didn’t hold back, even drawing a comparison to Rishabh Pant’s infamous dismissal in Australia—though he stopped short of using Sunil Gavaskar’s harsh words, “stupid stupid stupid.”
“Stop giving your wicket away to stupid over-aggressive shots because you can do better and England want more from you,” Boycott wrote. He pointed out that head coach Brendon McCullum himself has acknowledged the need to fine-tune the Bazball approach, meaning the players have “no excuses any more.”
Boycott calls for Rethink in Top-Order approach
Taking direct aim at Zak Crawley, Boycott wrote: “How many more chances is Crawley going to get? He has learned nothing in his 57 Tests. A waft in the first innings caught behind and a front-foot drive in the second innings to a wide sucker ball caught at gully. It was just a replay of too many of his dismissals. Time to go. Five hundreds and an average of 31 is not good enough.”
He also criticised Ollie Pope’s batting style: “His problem is when he first goes in he is hyperactive, fidgety, like a cat on a hot tin roof. Pope starts like a millionaire, a shot a ball, as if he already has a hundred to his name…”
Boycott also voiced his disagreement with the idea of replacing Pope with Jacob Bethell, adding a warning for the future: “Can you imagine what the Australian seamers are thinking about this winter’s Ashes series? If Starc doesn’t get you, Hazlewood and Cummins will.”
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