Our players might as well go work for a circus if they begin to believe that outcomes are unimportant: Geoffrey Boycott

Geoffrey Boycott, a former cricket player for England, has taken a harsh stance against the squad for their appalling results at ICC competitions over the years. They exited the World Cup 2023 in the league stages, despite winning the T20 World Cup in 2022. They were aiming to defend the T20 World Cup championship in the West Indies, however they were eliminated from the competition once more in the league stages due to their unfavourable phase.

Boycott berated the squad for introducing “Bazball” and for undermining the integrity of Test cricket while discussing their performance. For those who are unaware, England revolutionised the intense and dangerous style of Test cricket that has produced results. However, while playing the same style of cricket, the squad lost 4-1 to India during their subcontinent tour.

“All we have had over the last few months is the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean, where England performed poorly, the Indian Premier League, which helped a few of our moderate to average Test players get rich, and before that a miserable 4-1 Test series loss in India where England started well, but in the end were hammered,” Boycott wrote in a column for the Telegraph.

“Some of our guys were overcome by vanity and pride during our winter in India. They made remarks about how vital it was to score soon and excite the audience because they were performers. All of that is admirable, but students must never forget that there are winners and losers, and it’s not fun to lose,” he continued.

Cricket test matches are not exhibitions: Geoffrey Boycott

Many have criticised England after Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum consistently supported the Bazball gameplay. Even though they prevailed in the bilateral series, they were unable to reclaim the Ashes. Furthermore, the critics pointed numerous fingers at the new gameplay after their 1-4 loss to India.

Cricket test matches are not exhibitions. In addition, Boycott stated, “If our players begin to believe that winning is unimportant, they might as well become circus performers or travel the world like the basketball team of the Harlem Globetrotters, performing stunts, cracking jokes, and not caring who wins as long as everyone has a good time.