Legendary England batter Geoffrey Boycott has lashed out at the team’s leadership following the humiliating 336-run defeat to India in the second Test at Edgbaston. In a sharply worded column for The Daily Telegraph, the 83-year-old former opener slammed England’s persistence with Zak Crawley and Chris Woakes, calling both decisions “counter-productive.”
Boycott, who amassed over 8,000 Test runs at an average of 47.72, questioned Crawley’s ability to evolve even after playing 56 Tests. He wrote,
“I don’t think he can change or get better. Batting is in the head, and the brain dictates how you approach batting: what shots you attempt, what balls you leave. His faults in technique and thinking are ingrained.”
Crawley has managed just 88 runs across four innings in the ongoing series, with a top score of 65. He was dismissed by Bumrah and Prasidh Krishna in the Leeds Test, and by Siraj in Edgbaston. While Boycott admitted Crawley had shown restraint in Headingley, he criticized his lack of discipline later on. Boycott said,
“The two shots he got out to at Edgbaston [in the second Test] were awful. In the first innings, his feet got stuck in cement—neither forward nor back—and then he wafted at the ball to be caught at slip."
He added,
“Second innings, he batted on off stump and drove at a well-pitched-up ball two feet wide. He did not need to play it. He was on nought, had been fielding for five sessions, and his legs were tired, so should have been thinking about surviving that evening.”
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Veteran Woakes Also Targeted for Lack of Impact
Boycott didn’t spare Chris Woakes either, questioning why the veteran seamer continues to feature despite limited effectiveness. Woakes has taken just three wickets across two Tests and went wicketless in India’s dominant innings at Edgbaston. Boycott asserted,
“It is counter-productive to keep the same guys in the team when they are past their sell-by date or not doing enough.”
He pointed to Woakes' declining pace and lack of overseas success, saying,
“He has never been a wicket-taker abroad.”
While Woakes has often provided lower-order runs, Boycott argued that bowlers must focus on taking wickets and not be seen as backup batsmen.
“His job should not be to shore up bad batting. Batsmen are there to score runs, and bowlers need to take wickets.”
England hangs 1–1 in the five-match series after India’s historic first-ever win at Edgbaston
