Boycott Urges England to Plan for Future, Phase Out Anderson
Geoffrey Boycott, the legendary England cricketer, has urged selectors to prioritize the future and phase out 41-year-old pace maestro James Anderson. Boycott’s plea comes after Anderson’s historic achievement of 700 Test wickets against India.
While acknowledging Anderson’s remarkable longevity and skill, Boycott believes it’s time to prepare younger seamers for the upcoming Ashes series in Australia, where Anderson will be 43. He advocates for giving opportunities to emerging talents like Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts.
“England cannot keep wrapping him in cotton wool and picking him on sentiment forever,” Boycott asserted. “In a year-and-a-half, England’s next big challenge will be going to Australia to try and win back the Ashes.”
Boycott also criticized England’s current bowling lineup, describing it as lacking potency and intimidation. He singled out inexperienced spinners Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir, an “ineffectual” Mark Wood, and an unfit Ben Stokes.
“It would not frighten anyone: two raw kids in Tom Hartley and Shoaib Bashir with little first-class bowling as spinners, an ineffectual fast bowler in Mark Wood who just bangs the ball into the track with little movement,” Boycott criticized.
The former cricketer also lamented England’s batting struggles against Kuldeep Yadav, expressing surprise at their inability to counter the spinner’s deliveries.
Boycott concluded by casting doubt on England’s ability to learn from their defeat to India, suggesting they might revert to their usual form against weaker opponents.
“Stokes says they will learn from this tour. I am not convinced. They will go back home and revert to type and beat ordinary West Indies and Sri Lanka teams and India will be forgotten as a distant memory,” Boycott remarked.