Former England opener, Sir Geoffrey Boycott has recently shared that England should include both the pacers – James Anderson and Stuart Broad in the second Ashes Test in Adelaide after their exclusion in Brisbane. The veteran has stated that the pair’s exclusion in the second Test will severely affect the visitors’ chances of winning the series as well.
Anderson and Broad both 1156 cumulative wickets in their names, surprisingly didn’t play the Ashes opener, which England lost by nine wickets as well. While writing in his column for the Telegraph, Boycott opened up on this.
Boycott wrote: “If both Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad don’t play (in the second Test) then what is the point of them being in the squad? The captain and coach keep telling us how good they are and how many wickets they have taken. I agree they have been magnificent for England with outstanding performances, so if they are fit they have to play.”
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He further added: “Jack Leach hadn’t played a Test match for nine months since early March in India. He didn’t get a game during the English summer as England played lots of seamers – and then suddenly they expected Jack to bowl well in Brisbane. No wonder the Aussies went after him, and in 13 overs he was whacked for 102 runs. I felt for the lad. Not his fault.”
Although Leach sent Marnus Labuschagne back, he gave away 102 runs in the first innings. That means he is likely to be out of the playing XI for the day-night Test at the Adelaide Oval which will begin on the 16th. Boycott applauded England pacers Ollie Robinson and Mark Wood for their performances as well but expressed his concern for the latter too. Meanwhile, James Anderson and Stuart Broad are all set to play the second Test as well.
Geoffrey Boycott added: “On the plus side, I thought Mark Wood and Ollie Robinson were splendid. Mark was consistently fast, accurate and threatening to the opposition. My only concern was him bowling flat out every ball. Throwing his body 100 per cent into every delivery is a recipe for injury. He’s 32 during this Ashes series, and that is a fast bowler’s dangerous age for injuries. From now on, fast bowling gets tougher on the body. We would all like to see more of him for a lot longer.”
He also opened up on Ben Stokes’ performance in the first Ashes Test in Brisbane. Boycott claimed that Ben Stokes is not a magician, who can perform well with bat and bowl all the time. He only managed 19 runs and conceded 65 runs in 12 overs and went wickets too.
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“Ben Stokes needed to play more cricket. All the hype that he’s back and what he brings to the dressing room is b——-. He is not a messiah. He can’t bat and bowl for everyone. Ben hasn’t played for five months, had a finger operation and rain ruined his practice. Then his first knock was on a testing pitch against, in my view, the two best seam bowlers in the world – Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood,” he again shared.
“That would be tough for any batsman in good form. Too many players expected some magic from our talismanic all-rounder. His second innings dismissal showed his lack of cricket as he got in a tangle with a bit of bounce. In good nick, there is every chance he would have played it differently. Once Australia had bowled England out for a paltry total unless England could bowl them out for a similar score, then they were playing catch-up cricket which hardly ever brings success,” Geoffrey Boycott concluded.
