Latest news with #GeoffreyBoycott
India Today
08-07-2025
- Sport
- India Today
Chris Woakes past his sell-date, Zak Crawley not doing enough: Geoffrey Boycott
Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott tore into Chris Woakes and Zak Crawley following England's hammering in the second Test against India at Edgbaston, Birmingham. India beat England by 336 runs in the second Test to level the series 1-1. Following England's loss, Geoffrey Boycott has gone after Woakes, who's the senior-most bowler in the current squad, having 59 Tests under his seam all-rounder bowled a total of 82 overs across two Test matches and has picked just three wickets, giving away 290 runs. Analysing Woakes' performance in the first two Tests, Boycott said that his pace is dropping with age and also mentioned his poor record away from home."Look at Chris Woakes. His pace is dropping as you would expect as a seamer gets older. He has never been a wicket-taker abroad, where his record is poor. He is good - or has been good - on English pitches, and his batting has been handy at times as a safety valve when others have failed. Woakes has been a good cricketer but not a master craftsman like James Anderson, who took buckets full of wickets home and away consistently. He also has a poor record in Australia that is highly unlikely to change at the age of 36," Boycott wrote in his column for British daily 'The Telegraph'. Furthermore, the former England captain also highlighted the poor batting performance of Zak Crawley saying that he can't change or get better. The England opener has only scored 88 runs from two matches so far with one half-century to his name."I don't think he can change or get better. Batting is in the head and the brain dictates how you approach batting: what shots you attempt, what balls you leave. His faults in technique and thinking are ingrained. A leopard doesn't change his spots, or maybe Zak does not want to change. He should be approaching his best years but in 56 Tests he has learned nothing. One sparkling innings and numerous failures, with an average of 31, is not good enough,' Boycott have dominated the majority of the series, having levelled it 1-1, following a sensational win at Edgbaston. Hence, England would be under pressure to make a comeback in the third Test, set to begin from July 10 at Lord's, London. The team management's strategy of preparing flat decks has backfired massively as Indian batters made merry in Birmingham. It remains to be seen the kind of pitches, England will prepare going forward in the series.- EndsMust Watch
Time of India
08-07-2025
- Sport
- Time of India
IND vs ENG: 'Luckiest England cricketer ever', 'past his sell-by date' - Ex-England captains tear apart two Bazballers
Former England captains Geoffrey Boycott and have made a scathing attack on and after Ben Stokes and co. suffered a humiliating 337-run loss at Edgbaston in the second Test of the ongoing Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Boycott said opener Zak Crawley has not learnt a thing and has resorted to his old bad ways. Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW! "At Headingley, he played straight with the full face of the bat, left wide balls, and let the ball come to him so he could keep his bat close to his pad," Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph. "The two shots he got out to at Edgbaston were awful. In the first innings, his feet got stuck in cement, neither forward nor back, and then he wafted at the ball to be caught at slip. "In the second innings, he batted on off stump and drove at a well-pitched-up ball two feet wide. He did not need to play it. He was on nought, had been fielding for five sessions, and his legs were tired, so he should have been thinking about surviving that evening. "I don't think he can change or get better." Shubman Gill, Gautam Gambhir shut critics with thumping win over England The 27-year-old opener has played 56 Tests and still averages 31 in Test cricket, which Michael Vaughan said is just not good enough. "There have been many players who have frustrated fans – including me – over the years, but he is right up there as the most frustrating I can remember. And in my time watching, playing for, and covering England, he is the player luckiest to have won as many caps as he has," Vaughan wrote in his column for The Telegraph. "He has to count himself fortunate to have played 56 games, while scoring just five hundreds and averaging 31. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Among all the openers in history with more than 2,500 runs, he has the lowest average: 30.3. He's batted 102 times in Test cricket and been out in single digits 42 times." Boycott used even sterner words for Chris Woakes, who he thinks is past his sell-by date. "His pace is dropping, as you would expect as a seamer gets older. He has never been a wicket-taker abroad, where his record is poor. He is good – or has been good – on English pitches, and his batting has been handy at times as a safety valve when others have failed. His job should not be to shore up bad batting. Batsmen are there to score runs, and bowlers need to take wickets," said Boycott. "Woakes has been a good cricketer, but not a master craftsman like James Anderson, who took buckets full of wickets home and away consistently."
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Vaughan says Crawley 'lucky' to have so many England caps
Michael Vaughan said Zak Crawley was the "luckiest" player to have won so many England caps after the opening batsman was twice out in familiar fashion as India levelled the Test series. Crawley tightened up his defence while making a valuable 65 as England chased down a stiff target of 371 to win the first Test at Headingley against an India attack led by Jasprit Bumrah. Advertisement But with India resting Bumrah, the world's top-ranked Test bowler, at Edgbaston, the 27-year-old Crawley reverted to his old ways by twice getting out driving loosely at balls well outside off stump while making scores of 19 and nought. The tourists crushed England by 336 runs to make it 1-1 with three more matches to come in the series. Despite his struggles, Crawley has kept his place in England's squad for next week's third Test at Lord's. "In my time watching, playing for and covering England, he is the player luckiest to have won as many caps as he has," former England captain Vaughan wrote of Crawley in Britain's Daily Telegraph. Advertisement "He has to count himself fortunate to have played 56 games while scoring just five hundreds and averaging 31." Vaughan, who scored 18 Test centuries, added: "Crawley is so exasperating because he has the game.... But he has to score more runs at the top of the order." England opening great Geoffrey Boycott was even more scathing than Vaughan about Crawley's approach to batting. "I don't think he can change or get better," said Boycott, writing in the same newspaper. "His faults in technique and thinking are ingrained. "A leopard doesn't change his spots, or maybe Zak does not want to change. He should be approaching his best years but in 56 Tests he has learned nothing. Advertisement "One sparkling innings (of 267) and numerous failures, with an average of 31, is not good enough." England were also comprehensively out-bowled at Edgbaston. India paceman Akash Deep, only playing because Bumrah was rested, took 10 wickets in the match. England paceman Chris Woakes took the new ball but managed just two wickets, with Boycott suggesting the 36-year-old's best days are behind him. "It is counter-productive to keep the same guys in the team when they are past their sell-by date or not doing enough," he said. "Look at Chris Woakes. His pace is dropping as you would expect as a seamer gets older. He has never been a wicket-taker abroad, where his record is poor." jdg/jw/mw
News18
24-06-2025
- Sport
- News18
Geoffrey Boycott Slams England Wicketkeeper Jamie Smith: 'Daft As A Brush'
Last Updated: Geoffrey Boycott criticized England's Ben Stokes and Jamie Smith for their performances against India in the Headingley Test. Legendary former England opener Geoffrey Boycott was not too impressed with some of the current crop for their performances against India in the ongoing Headingley Test of the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. He was particularly critical of captain Ben Stokes for 'fishing outside the off-stump' and Jamie Smith, calling the latter 'daft as a brush' for his attempted hook to get out for 40 on Day 3 of the match. England put up 465/10 in their first innings. Like their opponents, who scored 471, they could have had more if not for some rash shots at the wrong moments. But they could also have had much less, if not for India's fielding blunders. Smith looked in stellar touch for his 40 but fell into Prasidh Krishna's short ball ploy, top-edging a pull to deep square leg where Ravindra Jadeja and Sai Sudharsan combined for a catch. 'I'll start at the beginning," Boycott told The Telegraph. 'Pope out early to a wide shot, just flashed outside and he never made any more runs. Stokes fishing outside offstump. Brook dropped at 82 but didn't matter. It was costly after that no ball on nought last night and he's made 99 runs. He got to 99 playing beautifully. Prasidh bounced him and he goes to hook it out the park and holes out to fine leg. Bit of a disappointment really but the 99 runs that came were marvellous," he added. 'Smith at the other end made 40. He hooked a bouncer for a six and then he wanted another one. Missed it. Then he hooked another one and holed out on the boundary. Daft as a brush, that, for me," he said. Summarising the day, he reserved special praise for Harry Brook — who scored 99 — and Jasprit Bumrah — who took a five-wicket haul. 'Another marvellous day of cricket at Headingley. Day 3. Ebbed and flowed. Not sure who's ahead at the moment actually. But we were treated to some magnificent bowling by Jasprit Bumrah. He got a fifer. And Harry Brook. Absolutely entertaining 99. He treated his home crowd to some delightful, delicious, majestic strokes. Just over run a ball. Thrilling batting but took the breath away at times. And it took the match away from India when India were getting a hold of it." India's third innings brought the game back into balance at Stumps on Day 4. England need 350 runs to win on Day 5 with all wickets remaining. First Published:
Times
22-06-2025
- Sport
- Times
Harry Brook out for 99 as thrilling, bonkers day leaves Test finely poised
Harry Brook couldn't believe it. With Yorkshire's finest, Geoffrey Boycott, watching on, and the Headingley faithful ready to acclaim a spectacular hundred from one of their own, Brook top-edged a pull into the hands of fine leg and leaned back, agony etched all over his face, involuntarily bringing his right hand to his helmet, as if to hide his eyes from the reality of being dismissed for 99 on his home ground. It was another thrilling day at Headingley, the first half of which was dominated by the local boy, who led the charge to remind India, in his first Test against them, that youth and prodigious talent are not limited to the subcontinent. Having made all but one of his Test hundreds abroad, he would have been desperate to celebrate one on his home ground, and eat further into India's advantage, but that was not to be.
