‘Bazball cost him the wicket’: Geoffrey Boycott slams England after Vizag Test loss

After the loss in the second Test by 106 runs to India, England cricket team have criticism from various factions of the cricketing fraternity. Former England legendary opener Geoffrey Boycott was one of them as he blamed the side’s Bazball style of play for the defeat.

Boycott was particularly critical of Joe Root as he felt he is the side’s most technically sound batter and should have been looking to be busy rather than playing a rash shot. "Scoring at five an over was entertaining but too many batsmen gave their wickets away after good starts. The best way to achieve a total of nearly 400 is by one of the batsmen scoring a big hundred. Looking to go after good bowlers and scoring quickly comes with risk,” Boycott wrote in his column in The Telegraph.

“Bazball cost Joe Root his wicket. As soon as he came in, he was dancing down the pitch trying to hit it over the top and very soon swiped it up in the air. He only scored 16. England's best technical batsman is normally a busy player who scores at a good rate, but trying to go after the bowling as soon as he comes in takes him out of his comfort zone," Boycott further wrote.

Boycott criticizes Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum

Boycott launched a scathing attacking on England’s captain and coach saying their method is only great when it comes off. "Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are besotted with attack, attack, attack. It's as if they say 'if we can't win, we will go down in glorious failure instead.' But there is no glory in failure or defeat," Boycott wrote in his column.

"Bazball is great entertainment when it comes off. But once you believe in an ideal over substance, then you have lost the plot. Today England gave the match away. Bazball was a failure," Boycott further added.

Boycott also felt that T20 cricket is running on the players’ mind. "Twenty20 cricket seems to have got in their head and made them think that every ball must be scored off with an aggressive stroke, sweep, swipe or cross-batted shot. Twenty20 is cricket's answer to baseball, where you attempt a big hit every time. England's batting resembled Twenty20," he added.

Read: RCB player slams Joe Root for poor shot in Vizag Test

This is not the first time when Boycott has been critical of England’s Bazball style of play. With 399 runs to win, England lost the match by 106 runs, leaving the series interestingly poised at 1-1. The next Test will be played at Rajkot from February 15-19.