"It would not have bothered me one iota and that sort of thing should not get you out" - Geoffrey Boycott on people raging over Broad's bail antics
Former England batter Sir Geoffrey Boycott slammed Australia for whining over Stuart Broad's 'superstitious' trick with the bails during the fifth Ashes Test at The Oval.
The veteran pacer flipped the bails around during the first innings, leading to Marnus Labuschagne's dismissal off the very next delivery. Broad later admitted that it is an Aussie ritual and emulated it after having seen Nathan Lyon do the same in the past.
Broad repeated the trick at the fag end of the contest with England only one wicket away from a historic win. Much to the chagrin of the Australian camp, the bail ploy did work again as the right-arm pacer induced an edge off Alex Carey to wrap up the series and his career in style.
Boycott did not mince his words while trying to express his opinion over people who were angered by Broad's antics.
He wrote for his column in The Telegraph:
"They got upset about Broad switching the bails behind Marnus Labuschagne and then him getting out to the next ball England bowled at him. He did it in the second innings as well before taking his last two wickets in Test cricket. Why were the Aussies upset? It would not have bothered me one iota and that sort of thing should not get you out."
Broad was warned by Aussie opener Usman Khawaja that if he switches the bail in front of him, he would revert it right back.
"If that has any effect on a batsman’s mental thought process then he should not be playing Test cricket" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott on the bail switch
England and Australia settled for a 2-2 draw in the 2023 Ashes following a riveting set of matches that went down to the wire. Both sides have made a commanding start to the 2023-25 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle while Australia retained the urn as the current holders.
Further stating that antics like bail switching should not bother batters playing at the highest level, Boycott wrote:
"If that has any effect on a batsman’s mental thought process then he should not be playing Test cricket. If Labuschagne or the Aussies are blaming that then it is just a lame excuse. Same with their gripe about England changing the ball for a better one and then bowling Australia out."
"They feel a need to blame England for some sharp practice to justify their unsportsmanlike behavior against Jonny Bairstow at Lord’s," Boycott added.
The two arch-rivals will next meet in the ODI format during the World Cup in India during the October-November window.