September 10, 2024

Sir Geoffrey Boycott blasts England’s batters and blames Brendon McCullum

Cricket legend Sir Geoffrey Boycott has criticized England’s ‘careless, overconfident batting’ in their eight-wicket defeat to Sri Lanka.

England ended what had been a promising summer of Test cricket on a disappointing note. After an impressive 3-0 series sweep of the West Indies and two comfortable victories over Sri Lanka, Brendon McCullum’s team was poised to secure a consecutive whitewash. However, they fell short of that goal. Despite their strong performances earlier in the summer, they faltered when a modest second-innings total of 219 was swiftly chased down by their opponents, leaving the series on a sour note.

Still missing captain Ben Stokes due to injury and with their bowlers appearing increasingly fatigued, England leaned heavily on their ‘Bazball’ batting strategy at the Oval. However, former England captain Boycott believes their ‘hubris’ hindered their ‘common sense.’

Opening batsman Dan Lawrence, who replaced the injured Zak Crawley, faced sharp criticism after scoring only nine and seven runs in the third Test. Boycott wrote in his Telegraph column, “Dan Lawrence will never make an opening bat.”

“He doesn’t have the technique or the patience. Around off-stump and outside off-stump, his bat is too far away from his body, and that makes him vulnerable to new-ball movement. He is not a good judge of what to leave and what to play, and for an opener that can be so important.”

He also commented on Lawrence, who has already been dropped from the Test squad for next month’s tour of Pakistan: “I am not convinced he will ever make it at Test level unless he tightens up his defence, plays straighter and has better judgement around off-stump. There is a lot to work on there.”

Boycott Criticizes Duckett, Brook, and the ‘Bazball’ Approach Ahead of Pakistan Series

Boycott also criticized fellow opener Ben Duckett, who struggled in the capital. “Ben Duckett is a prime example of the McCullum style,” the 83-year-old added.

“When he gets runs, it is rat-a-tat-tat, shot a ball. There are great shots interspersed with slogs, pulls, and sweeps. Other times, he gets himself out with daft shots that you can’t believe he has tried. He attempts to play like a left-handed Viv Richards, dismissing bowlers from all parts of the ground. Viv was special, but Ben wasn’t.

“I believe Ben is a good batsman but his batting borders on overconfidence with a touch of arrogance. If he could stop pressing the self-destruct button, he would score a lot more runs. I am not suggesting you play defensive; just be sensible.”

Harry Brook also faced criticism, with Boycott adding: “Sri Lanka are the latest to wait for him to get himself out. In the first innings at the Oval, you could see he was getting frustrated and not liking being able to score. Frustration got to him, and he slapped one to cover.”

“If the team directive is to get after the bowling and put bat to ball, it goes against instructions to keep leaving wide balls, yet he is going to have to think on his feet and adapt. More patience, please?”

Boycott also criticized McCullum and Stokes for sticking to ‘Bazball’ and its aggressive approach. He warned, “Chasing the new ball every time will have its costs, and when individuals fail, their failures will be dramatic.”

“The team has bought into Brendon’s ‘Bazball‘ culture and like all gamblers they trot out the standard phrase ‘that’s the way we play’. If your boss and captain insist on the batters attacking the bowlers, then you do it, or you may be dropped. It stems from the top.”

England will start their three-Test series in Pakistan on October 7.

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