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England Great Geoffrey Boycott Diagnosed With Throat Cancer For The Second Time

admin — Wed, 03 Jul 2024 13:00:31 +0000

File image of Sir Geoffrey Boycott.© AFP

England great Sir Geoffrey Boycott has been diagnosed with throat cancer for the second time and will undergo surgery in two weeks time to treat the illness. “In the last few weeks I have had an MRI Scan, CT Scan, a PET Scan and two biopsies and it has now been confirmed I have throat cancer and will require an operation,” the 83-year-old was quoted as saying in a statement by ‘The Telegraph’. “From past experience I realise that to overcome cancer a second time I will need excellent medical treatment and quite a bit of luck and even if the operation is successful every cancer patient knows they have to live with the possibility of it returning.”So I will just get on with it and hope for the best.”

The former England opener, who scored 8114 runs in 108 Tests, was first diagnosed with the disease in 2002 at the age of 62. Given just three months to live, Boycott with the support of his wife and daughter fought his way back after going through 35 chemotherapy sessions.

Boycott, who has 151 first-class centuries, retired in 1982 and went on to enjoy a successful media career as a commentator for BBC. He eventually stepped down from the role in 2020.

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England batters failed to solve Kuldeep mystery: Geoff Boycott

admin — Tue, 12 Mar 2024 06:04:08 +0000

India’s Kuldeep Yadav celebrates with skipper Rohit Sharma after the wicket of England batsman Ben Duckett on the first day of the final test match at HPCA Ground in Dharamshala on March 07, 2024.
| Photo Credit: R.V. Moorthy

The legendary Geoff Boycott said England batsmen’s failure to negate left-arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav was one of the main reasons behind the team’s thumping defeat against India in the recent Test series.

England started the five-match series with a win at Hyderabad but it went progressively worse for them and lost the rubber 1-4 as Kuldeep walked away with 19 wickets from four games.

“I was amazed how many of them could not read the wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav and by the end of the series were still no wiser. A bowler can be a mystery to you the first couple of times you have to face him.

“But at international level, batsmen should be able to find a way to work him out. Too many never looked comfortable against him and were reduced to staying back and trying to play him off the pitch,” wrote Boycott in his column in The Telegraph.

Boycott was also critical of the overtly aggressive approach of England batters in the series.

“They (English batters) were not confident of their ability to defend, especially with fielders around the bat, so they looked to attack instead. That idea is fraught with danger against quality spinners,” he detailed.

The former England opener, who scored 8114 runs in Test cricket, said, “That is why we saw some daft dismissals like Ollie Pope running down the pitch to be stumped by yards and Ben Duckett running down the pitch to Ashwin to be bowled off an underside edge.” Boycott then underlined the importance for batters to have a tight defence.

“On flat batting pitches at home and in Pakistan and New Zealand our batsmen have had great fun. Indian pitches have been a bit different. Having a good defence is part of batting.

“That doesn’t mean you have to bat defensively but it is usually wise to play yourself in, get used to the pitch and the bowling before you try to stamp your authority on the game,” he added.

Even though young England spinners Tom Hartley (22) and Shoaib Bashir (17) took wickets, Boycott said they were too green behind the ears to make a sustained impact against a quality side like India.

“It was a big gamble to select three novice spinners. Inexperienced kids were never going to out-bowl experienced Indian spinners in India. England were lucky that Virat Kohli was unavailable for all the series and KL Rahul only played one Test,” he wrote.

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England Legend Delivers Brutal Verdict On Bazball

admin — Sat, 02 Mar 2024 18:41:39 +0000

England will aim to end the five-match series against India on a high as the fifth match is slated to be played from March 7 in Dharamshala. The Rohit Sharma and co gained an unassailable lead 3-1 lead after registering a thumping five-wicket victory in the fourth Test in Ranchi. Chasing 192, India lost some five wickets with 120 runs on the board but the unbeaten partnership between Shubman Gill (52*) and Dhruv Jurel (39*) took the hosts across the line.

Ahead of the fifth Test, former England opener Geoffrey Boycott picked up an “error” made by Ben Stokes during India’s chase in the fourth match.

“I like Stokes’s captaincy but I thought he made a big error by opening the bowling with two spinners, Root and Tom Hartley. Stokes was thinking that a harder new ball would bounce more and a raised seam would create more spin,” Geoffrey wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

“The problem is that unless you are experienced at bowling spin with a new ball then the lacquer makes it slip out of the fingers so it is difficult to drop it on a length. When I played, spinners could rub the ball in the dirt to rough it up and grip it better but that is banned now so it is hard for them to control. I think Stokes out-thought himself,” he added.

“Bazball has given Test cricket a shot in the arm and England deserves praise for that. At times, I love it. But I love winning more and England has failed to beat the best two teams in the world: Australia and now India,” he further wrote.

Geoffrey further stated that the low contribution from the batters is the reason why England lost the match and the series.

“Chasing small totals in the last innings of a Test match has historically proved difficult for many teams because the pitch is usually worn and playing tricks,” stated the England great.

“Early wickets are a priceless bonus but it is also imperative the bowlers tie the batsmen down to build pressure on the batting team. The game and series were lost by the batsmen,” he added.

The fifth and final Test of the five-match series will kick-start from March 7 in Dharamshala.

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