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‘For Test cricket, that is a load of rubbish’: Boycott explains why ENG batters failed to perform in Nottingham Test
Boycott explained how some of the batsmen couldn’t resist the temptation of poking at the ball when it was not meant to be hit. He said too much focus on one-day cricket is adding to their struggles.
Former captain Geoffrey Boycott has lashed out at the England batsmen for their approach against India’s bowling attack in the first Test in Nottingham, that ended in a draw. England’s batting line-up has been struggling for a quite a long time now. Their struggle was clearly visible when they hosted New Zealand a few moths ago. The misery continued against India as no batsmen other than Joe Root could put a decent score. The home skipper, who scored a hundred in the second innings, looked calm and composed while others had a tough time.
In his latest column for Telegraph, Boycott explained how some of the batsmen couldn’t resist the temptation of poking at the ball when it was not meant to be hit. He said too much focus on one-day cricket is adding to their struggles.
“I recently bumped into Graham Gooch and we chatted about England’s batting. He summed it all up by saying: “Fiery, if bowlers keep it tight for four balls, then you know our batsmen will have a go at the fifth and sixth deliveries and there is every chance they will get themselves out,” Boycott wrote in The Telegraph.
“The culture of cricket has changed. Many of us batsmen love playing shots and because of the diet of one day cricket, modern players are pretty good at it, but it is their defensive technique that lets them down.
“It might sound unfashionable because of franchise leagues to talk about staying in and being defensive but, like Goochie said, teams only have to bowl a few good balls because they know batsmen will soon be tempted to play a big shot,” he added.
Boycott further cited the example of Zak Crawley and opined that the mentality of hitting every ball is the ‘root cause’ why the English batters didn’t perform well in the first Test.
“We supporters are disappointed when they look to attack all the time, but we should not be surprised, because that is the type of cricket, they have been taught at county level.
“Look at Zak Crawley. He is symptomatic of the problem. Over the last number of years, young batsmen have been taught to whack the ball because there are so many one-day matches,” lamented Boycott.
“The talk is all about strike rates but for Test match cricket, that is a load of rubbish. If you can't defend, then top bowlers in Test match cricket with a newish ball will find your weaknesses. What is the point of having a range of eye-catching strokes if you can't stay in? That is the root cause of his problems,” he added.
(With PTI Inputs)
