'He Has Learned Nothing In 57 Tests': England Great Blasts Batters For Stupid Shots

News18

6 days ago

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Geoffrey Boycott has lashed out at England batters for losing their wickets while playing aggressive shots which he considers is a product of Bazball.
England cricket legend Geoffrey Boycott has slammed England's top order, urging them to abandon the Bazball ideology and show more discipline with the bat following their recent Test collapse against India.
In his Daily Telegraph column, Boycott did not hold back, condemning the 'stupid over-aggressive shots" from several English batters and specifically targeting Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope for severe criticism.
'Stop giving your wicket away to stupid over-aggressive shots because you can do better and England want more from you," Boycott wrote. 'The coach Brendon McCullum has said recently that England don't talk about Bazball and need to fine-tune their approach to batting. So no excuses anymore."
Known for his blunt observations, Boycott questioned Zak Crawley's place in the team, suggesting it's time for the opener to step aside after numerous failures. '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."
Ollie Pope also faced Boycott's ire, with the former cricketer accusing him of blindly following the aggressive Bazball approach. '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 observed.
'Early on the captain and coach sold Bazball to all the players and Ollie seems to have bought into it 100 percent and is so keen to show he is a disciple. Perhaps he feels he must play positive and aggressively or he won't keep his place."
Boycott advised Pope to take inspiration from England's most reliable batter. 'He needs to go back to basic batting which is to assess the situation and bat accordingly, not bat slavishly to an ideology or how he thinks the captain and coach want him to play. Take a look at Joe Root. Joe does his own thing and makes runs and he is the best batsman in the world."
There are rumours in England's cricket circles that Pope could be dropped for young talent Jacob Bethell, while Crawley may remain. Boycott was outraged by this idea. 'I hear and read comments about dropping Ollie Pope and replacing him with Jacob Bethell. Pope has done better for England than Crawley. In 59 Tests he averages 35 and has 10 centuries. Yes, with his talent it should be better, but he has played a few remarkable innings to help win matches for England."
Boycott concluded with a caution about the critical role of a No. 3 batter and how Crawley's position affects the middle order. 'A number three is part opening bat if the team loses an early wicket and part middle order… able to play strokes after a good start by the openers. Fat chance of that with Crawley up front. Number three is a very specialist position. Most opposition bowlers can't wait to get their sweaters off to bowl at him. 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."
With IANS Inputs
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