Geoffrey Boycott on England: When you start to believe your own self-importance then sport will bite you on the backside | Ashes 2023
The idea of losing the Ashes series to Australia at The Kia Oval “should give England nightmares,” according to Geoffrey Boycott.
England are currently 1-2 down with one to play, and haven’t lost an Ashes series on home soil since 2001. While Australia retained the Ashes in 2019, the series ended in a 2-2 draw. This summer, England dominated the match at Old Trafford before the rain halted their progress towards victory after Zak Crawley’s fabulous 189 and Jonny Bairstow’s blistering 99 not out.
In his latest column for the Telegraph, Boycott wrote that “hubris” meant England wasted a golden opportunity to regain the Ashes.
“England had an opportunity of a lifetime and screwed it up,” wrote Boycott. “The idea of losing the Ashes should give them nightmares.
“They gave us all fabulous moments, excited us, had us on the edge of our seats and won 10 out of 12 Tests. England even gave Test match cricket a shot in the arm but then they let it go to their heads and started to say they wanted to entertain and that it did not matter if they lost because they were still going to play Bazball and change Test cricket. When you start to believe your own self importance then sport will bite you on the backside.
“It’s called hubris. I looked it up in the Oxford English Dictionary and it says: arrogance, conceit, superiority, and big headedness. Well, they did entertain at Edgbaston but reckless batting cost them the match. So England mauled Australia but lost. How galling is that?”
In the first Test match, at Edgbaston, England declared on 393-8 on the evening of day one with Joe Root unbeaten on 118. In the context of Australia winning that match by a margin as small as two wickets, Boycott questioned whether they should have batted on. Equally, several questionable shots in England’s second innings also potentially left runs out in the middle.
Boycott also pointed to England’s batting in the first innings as Lord’s as another key moment.
“They lost sight of the object, which was to win the Ashes,” wrote Boycott. “Winning is paramount. Ask the England supporters whether they prefer us to win the Ashes or play well and lose.
“The second Test at Lord’s was evens with England batting beautifully in their first innings chasing Australia’s 416. But with England at 188 for two, Australia in trouble set a trap and went to their bouncer defence with a packed leg-side field and waited for England’s batsmen to commit hara-kari.
“Harry Brook epitomised the England mentality and attitude by swishing at every short ball and laughing when he missed a bouncer as if he was enjoying a knockabout and a laugh with his mates in the nets.
“England gave away a 91-run lead which turned out to be match-winning. Many England supporters stopped me as they were going home and asked what England were doing? How could they be so daft? They were puzzled and disappointed. That Test was in the balance until England batted without brains. They could have been two-nil up but at worst they should have been one all.”
In his previous column, before the Old Trafford Test, Boycott had criticised Bairstow’s keeping, saying he looked “a shadow of his former best”. After Bairstow’s brilliant game with both bat and gloves in Manchester, Boycott was full of praise this week: “I didn’t say it to make him mad. As much as I love him, it is quite obvious that it was not working. What often happens with him – and I have known him since he was a kid – is that criticism spurs him on and stirs him up. I didn’t write my column for that reason; I did it for cricket reasons.
“It was a brilliant comeback. Good. That is what we want: performances not talking. Every sportsman has to perform. He did it brilliantly. Well done. Now do it again.”
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