England defeated India by 22 runs in the third Test at Lord's.
Former England batter Geoffrey Boycott has criticised England’s batters despite the hosts’ 22-run win over India in the third Test at Lord’s recently. Joe Root scored a century and Jamie Smith registered a half-century in the first innings of the Lord’s Test wherein England scored 387.
However, England’s batters were underwhelming in the second innings as they were dismissed for 192, setting India a target of 193 to win after both teams posted 387 in their first innings. Jofra Archer and skipper Ben Stokes took three wickets each as England saw off India for just 170 in the latter’s chase.
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“Stop giving your wicket away to stupid over-aggressive shots because you can do better and England want more from you,” Geoffrey Boycott wrote in his column for The Daily Telegraph. Boycott also said that England head coach Brendon McCullum has admitted that the Bazball approach needs some tweaking.
The 84-year-old also questioned how Zak Crawley gets to play every game despite repeated failures. The England opener scored a half-century in the first Test at Headingley, but has endured a forgettable series otherwise. The 27-year-old has aggregated just 128 runs from six innings, including a duck in the second innings of the second Test.
“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,” the former Yorkshire cricketer added.
Geoffrey Boycott was also critical of Ollie Pope, who scored a century in the first Test but has struggled for consistency ever since. “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…,” he said.
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Boycott also felt that Jacob Bethell should not replace Pope in the England playing XI for the fourth Test against India that starts from July 23.
He warned about how threatening Australia’s pace trio of Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc can be. England are scheduled to take on Australia in the 2025-26 Ashes series Down Under later this year. “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,” he said.
England lead the five-match Test series against India 2-1 following wins at Headingley and Lord’s. The hosts had suffered a 336-run loss in the second Test at Edgbaston. The fourth Test will take place from July 23 at Old Trafford in Manchester.
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