New Delhi: England’s batters are ‘brainless Bazballers’ who don’t have traits to be become great Test batters, says former star Geoffrey Boycott after they lost a Test series away to Pakistan 2-1.
England beat Pakistan in the first game of the three-match series but then lost the last two to surrender the series with their batters unable to counter the Pakistan spinners on turning tracks.
Pakistan had lost to Bangladesh 0-2 prior to the England series and were staring down the barrel after going 0-1 down but scripted an amazing turnaround to win their first home series since 2021.
One of England’s finest Test batters known for his solid technique, Boycott said the current team’s unwillingness to learn from past mistakes and insistence on batting in top gear in every situation led to the series loss.
“If you want to be rated a great batsman, you must have a rounded game and score runs on all types of pitches. And if you want to have a legacy as a great team then you have to be able to win on all surfaces,” Boycott wrote in his column in Bristish publication The Telegraph, titled ‘England’s brainless Bazballers are just flat-track bullies’.
“They are wasting their opportunity and risk being remembered as flat-track bullies unless they make some adjustments for conditions.”
The former opener said that unless the England batters prove themselves on all surfaces they won’t be remembered a great players.
“As soon as the ball grips Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Stokes are all at sea. They go at the ball with hard hands and there are gaps between bat and pad. If they are not smashing boundaries they lose patience – and patience and concentration are the most important traits on turning pitches,” Boycott said.
After returning empty handed from Pakistan, England next face New Zealand in a three-match series in December.
