Former England captain Geoffrey Boycott slammed the team’s batsmen for their performances thus far in their five-match Test series against India. Although openers Haseeb Hameed and Rory Burns have given them good starts in the third and fourth Tests, England’s batting lineup has largely been held up by in-form captain Joe Root.
“The Australians will have watched the footage from the Oval. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will be queuing up to bowl at us,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph.
“The England batsmen need to stand in front of a mirror and be honest with themselves. Whatever it is, change it because it is not working. Everybody has nerves, expectations and heightened emotions when batting but we have to conquer them and play well. Our guys just collapse under pressure,” he further said.
Boycott said that fans no longer trust their batsmen. “Put bluntly, England are not good enough. When England win, you feel Joe has to bat exceptionally well to give us a chance. But to be a top team you can’t be a one-man band. Other guys have to stand up and do the business. Most England cricket supporters sit on the edge of their seats when we are batting wondering how the hell are we going to play. They don’t have confidence in our batsmen,” he said.
