Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has expressed his disappointment with the approach of Ben Stokes and the England team, stating that they are getting carried away with an entertaining style of cricket at the expense of winning. Boycott believes that the Ashes series is in danger of becoming an exhibition rather than a competitive contest. He emphasizes the importance of winning over entertaining and urges England to focus on the big prize of reclaiming the Ashes from Australia.
Boycott asserts that winning should be the top priority for England rather than prioritizing entertainment. While acknowledging the appeal of scoring fast runs and playing an aggressive brand of cricket, Boycott emphasizes that winning the Ashes is the ultimate goal. He argues that if Australia retains the Ashes despite entertaining cricket, it will disappoint England supporters.
“England is in danger of reducing the Ashes to an exhibition. England has gotten carried away with Bazball and seems to think entertaining is more important than winning. But England supporters want one thing more than anything else to win the Ashes.” Boycott wrote in his scathing column for ‘The Telegraph.’
According to Boycott, the Ashes series between England and Australia will lose its significance if England does not play to win. He contends that these Tests should not be treated as mere exhibition matches but as a crucial contests between two rivals. Boycott believes England should focus on winning first and entertaining second.
“Scoring fast runs, whacking lots of fours and sixes is lovely. It is great. But only if England does not lose sight of the big prize: to beat Australia. If Australia goes home with the Ashes at the end of the series, we will feel sick, regardless of how much we have been entertained.”
Boycott calls for a balance between attacking cricket and defensive play. He highlights the importance of common sense and pragmatism, suggesting England should be more patient and defensive when the situation demands it. Boycott believes that England has the potential to defeat Australia but must show more common sense in their approach.
“If England are not playing to win, these Ashes Tests are unimportant. They are only exhibition matches. They have got it back to front. It is not about entertaining and then winning. It is about winning first. By all means, entertain, but cricket is like chess. There are moments when you need to defend. Sometimes you need to be patient and accept it. Do not just attack, attack, attack. England needs a bit of common sense and pragmatism. That is all that is required. They do not have to change positively because they are a better side than Australia and will win if they just show that common sense,” he added.
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Boycott criticizes England for failing to capitalize on their dominance in the first Test at Edgbaston. He highlights instances where England let Australia back into the game due to carelessness and a lack of ruthlessness. Boycott finds England’s approach of being aggressive at all times unnecessary and suggests they must exhibit better decision-making.
“England outplayed Australia in nearly every session at Edgbaston but lost. When they are on top, be ruthless and not sloppy. We kept getting ahead of Australia and letting them back in by being careless. They are in danger of letting hubris be their downfall. It would be sad if playing exciting cricket for a year is going to their heads. They gave Australia a get out of jail free card. I find that silly.”
Boycott questions England’s decision to declare their first innings prematurely, potentially missing out on additional runs. He also criticizes the batsmen’s approach in the second innings, where they unnecessarily played overly aggressive shots and lost wickets. Boycott believes that England should have shown more restraint and composure.
“When they batted in the second innings, they went crazy. England scored at five and six an over, but for some reason, batsmen were trying to score at more than that and got themselves out. There were five: Ben Duckett, Root, Harry Brook, Jonny Bairstow, and Moeen Ali. It was unnecessary.”
