England players celebrating on the left and Geoffrey Boycott on the right. (FILE)
Former cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has been critical of the England team for their performance at the recently concluded T20 World Cup co-hosted by the United States and the West Indies. In addition to the poor campaign in the Caribbean, the 83-year-old also said “moderate to average” England Test players were getting rich due to the Indian Premier League.
“All we have had over the last few months is the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean, where England performed poorly, the Indian Premier League, which helped a few of our moderate to average Test players get rich,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph
“Before that, a miserable 4-1 Test series loss in India where England started well, but in the end were hammered,” Boycott recalled. After winning the opening Test in Hyderabad Ben Stokes led-side lost the remainder of the four Test matches convincingly.
“In India last winter, ego and hubris got the better of some of our players. They came out with comments about being entertainers and how it was important to score quickly and thrill the crowds. All that is laudable but they should never lose sight that there is a winner and a loser and losing isn’t much fun,” Boycott added about the series.
Boycott would go a step further and say if the players think results don’t matter they might well join a circus. “Test match cricket is not an exhibition. If our players start to think that results don’t matter then they might as well join a circus or go around the world like the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team doing tricks, laughing and joking, and not bothering who wins so long as everyone has a fun time.”
England last won a Test series in the December of 2022 against Pakistan away from home. Post that they drew series against hosting country New Zealand 1-1, drew to Australia 2-2 at home and were unable to regain the Ashes which was followed by thrashing at the hands of India earlier in 2024.
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