England skipper Joe Root would love to forget the first Test of the Ashes series that was played at Brisbane. The visitors had to suffer a humiliating nine-wicket defeat against the Aussies. Moreover, Root’s decision to bat first and keep pacers James Anderson and Stuart Broad out of the squad was heavily criticised as well.
And now, former England cricketer Sir Geoffrey Boycott has expressed his opinion and shared his disagreement with the decision of not selecting the two veteran pacers for the playing eleven.
“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. If they keep getting injured then they are a luxury England can’t afford,” Boycott wrote in his column for ‘The Telegraph’.
Boycott was also furious with the decision of having spinner Jack Leach in the squad. Leach did not play a Test match since early March as his last Test was against India in Ahmedabad. Boycott, the former English right-handed batsman, called the decision of selecting Leach as “bl***y stupid.”
“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. Why are we so bloody stupid? We make it extra difficult before we even start the series,” he explained.
After winning the toss, Joe Root decided to bat first in the first Test. English batting unit collapsed as they were bundled out for just 147 runs in the first innings. In the second innings, the English batsmen struggled as well wherein they were reduced from 223-2 to 297 all out.
Boycott thinks that England’s inadequate preparation is one of the key reasons behind their humiliating defeat.
“Hey, Joe! England has just been walloped by nine wickets so it isn’t a good time to be telling us that England is not far away from beating Australia. It would be much better if you and your team answered with deeds and not words. Face up to the fact that England made mistakes which didn’t help our team.
"For a start, your batsmen and bowlers looked underdone and should have had three or four competitive matches before the series. The planning was all wrong,”
