"This squad is a shadow of the World Cup winners 4 years ago" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott on England's performance in the 2023 World Cup
Former England batter Sir Geoffrey Boycott has lamented the lack of smart batting by the national team in the ongoing 2023 World Cup. The 83-year-old reckons that the current England squad is a shadow of the one that lifted the trophy four years ago and doesn't have the quality to win in India.
England's aggressive approach from the outset in the 2023 World Cup has come in for heavy criticism. With four defeats in five games, the defending champions are close to an early exit, rendering it one of their most forgettable World Cup campaigns.
In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott observed that several English players prefer playing slam-bang cricket regardless of the situation or conditions.
"Too many of our guys just want to play crash, bang wallop all the time irrespective of the type of pitch or opposition. Again not smart. This squad is a shadow of the World Cup winners four years ago. Then it was played in England where our players were familiar with the grounds and pitches," he wrote.
Boycott further added that being successful in Indian conditions depends on playing the ball late as he feels Joe Root is the only England batter capable of doing that.
"Except for Joe Root, all our batsmen go hard at the ball. Many Indian pitches are good but can be a bit on the slow side with some balls stopping therefore you need to let the ball come to you a bit more. Play it later and work the ball with good wrists and hands. It is not too difficult to get used to but you do need practice and time in the middle to adjust your batting," he added.
Root started the tournament with scores of 77 and 82 against New Zealand and Bangladesh, but his returns have dipped ever since. He has scored 11, 2, and 3 in the next three matches.
"He was the glue that held the innings together at one end" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott on Joe Root
While Boycott admitted that Root was once a very dependable ODI batter, he feels England's new approach in Test cricket has robbed the former skipper of that tag.
"Joe Root was Mr Dependable, a superb 50-over cricketer, one of the best in the world at just working the ball around. Using his excellent technique, he was the glue that held the innings together at one end while other batsmen attacked at the other. This new wave of “gung-ho “ cricket by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum in the Test side has sucked Joe into trying to score faster and attempting all kinds of funky shots with him making unusual mistakes," he explained.
England, who are currently languishing in ninth spot in the points table, will next face India on Sunday.