Team India showcased a stellar performance on Day 4 of the fourth Test against England, held at the JSCA International Stadium Complex in Ranchi. With remarkable contributions from seasoned players and promising talents alike, India secured a memorable victory over England.

India’s successful chase

In pursuit of a target of 192 runs, India got off to a strong start with openers Rohit Sharma and Yashasvi Jaiswal laying a solid foundation with an 84-run partnership. Despite facing some hiccups in the middle overs, Shubman Gill and Dhruv Jurel steadied the ship, gu??iding India to a compreh??ensive victory and sealing the series in their favor.

Geoffrey Boycott’s critique of Ben Stokes’ captaincy

Following England’s defeat, renowned cricketer Geoffrey Boycott weighed in on Ben Stokes‘ captaincy decisions, highlighting a significant error in strategy during the fourth innings. Boycott questioned Stokes’ choice to open the bowling with two spinners, Joe Root and Tom Hartley, terming it a tactical misstep.

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Lack of experience with the new ball

Boycott emphasized the lack of experience of Root and Hartley in bowling with the new ball, particularly in handling the challenges posed by the lacquer that makes it difficult to grip the ball effectively. He noted that contemporary regulations restricting alterations to the ball have added complexity to spinners’ ability to control it, compared to his playing days.

“England only had 192 to defend. I like Stokes’s captaincy but I thought he made a big error by opening the bowling with two spinners, Root and Tom Hartley. The problem is that unless you are experienced at bowling spin with a new ball then the lacquer makes it slip out of the fingers so it is difficult to drop it on a length,” wrote Boycott in his column for The Telegraph.

“When I played, spinners could rub the ball in the dirt to rough it up and grip it better but that is banned now so it is hard for them to control. I think Stokes out-thought himself,” added Boycott.

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In a dramatic turn of events at the Dr. Y.S. Rajasekhara Reddy ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam, India managed to level the five-match series against England with an emphatic 106-run victory in the second test. However, the aftermath saw former England player Geoffrey Boycott expressing his dissatisfaction, directing criticism at England coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes for what he labeled their ‘Bazball’ approach.

England’s valiant start crumbles as India clinches victory

Facing a daunting target of 399, England’s innings began on a promising note with a 50-run partnership between Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett. Crawley contributed a steady 73, but the lack of support from the middle-order batters proved detrimental. The English team ultimately collapsed, getting bowled out for 292, with Jasprit Bumrah securing nine wickets in the match.

Geoffrey Boycott slams Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s bazball technique

Boycott, in his column for The Telegraph, did not mince words as he lambasted the England team for their ill-fated ‘Bazball’ approach. He asserted that there is no glory in failure and urged the team to adapt their playing style according to the situation.

“Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are besotted with attack, attack, attack. It’s as if they say ‘if we can’t win, we will go down in glorious failure instead.’ But there is no glory in failure or defeat. Bazball is great entertainment when it comes off. But once you believe in an ideal over substance, then you have lost the plot. Today England gave the match away. Bazball was a failure,” Boycott said.

Also READ: IND vs ENG: Here’s why Ravichandran Ashwin faced DRS setback for Tom Hartley’s wicket in Vizag Te??st

Boycott decries England’s missed opportunity

According to Boycott, England squandered an opportunity to win the match, emphasizing the need for at least one batter to play sensibly and score big. He singled out experienced batter Joe Root, crit??icizing him for a poor shot selection that cost him his wicket at a crucial juncture in the chase.

“The best way to achieve a total of nearly 400 is by one of the batsmen scoring a big hundred. Looking to go after good bowlers and scoring quickly comes with risk. Bazball cost Joe Root his wicket. As soon as he came in, he was dancing down the pitch trying to hit it over the top and very soon swiped it up in the air. He only scored 16. England’s best technical batsman is normally a busy player who scores at a good rate, but trying to go after the bowling as soon as he comes in takes him out of his comfort zone,” the 83-year-old concluded.

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Despite entering the series opener against England as favourites, Rohit Sharma and his team faced a setback with a 28-run defeat at the hands of Ben Stokes‘ men in the recently concluded first Test match at Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. While Rohit showed promise with excellent starts in both innings, he struggled to capitalize on them.

Rohit Sharma’s struggles in recent matches

In the first innings, Rohit made a rapid start, scoring 24 off 27 balls, but his innings was cut short by Jack Leach. In the second innings, chasing a target of 231, Rohit contributed 39 runs while trying to stabilize the innings after early setbacks. However, he fell victim to left-arm spinner Tom Hartley, who picked seven wickets in the innings. Rohit’s struggles continued from the South Africa series,? where his highest?? score was 39 in four innings

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Geoffrey Boycott’s blunt verdict on Rohit Sharma’s form and captaincy

Former England great Geoffrey Boycott, known for his straightforward opinions, remarked in his column for The Telegraph that Rohit seems past his prime. The 83-year-old highlighted Rohit’s recent outings as brief cameos and expressed doubts about his inspirational captaincy. According to Boycott, England have a golden opportunity to secure a Test series victory in India, leveraging the home team’s challenges with missing key players.

“Their captain Rohit Sharma is nearly 37 and past his best. He makes pretty cameos but has only scored two Test hundreds at home in four years. They are also weak in the field. This India team is ripe for the taking, and England have a golden chance to be the first side to topple them on their own patch for 12 years. India badly miss Virat Kohli, and Ravindra Jadeja has a hamstring injury and will not play the second Test,” Boycott remarked.

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England were completely pushed on the backfoot by the Australian bowlers during Day 3 of the second Ashes 2023 Test at Lord’s. The hosts failed terribly to carry the momentum from Day 2 and were eventually bundled out 91 runs behind Australia’s first-inning total.

The poor shot selection by English batters was one of the major reason??s for their downfall, and now they stand on the verge of giving a 2-0 lead to Australia in the five-match series. Notably, the Aussie side won the opening Test of the Ashes 2023 by a close margin of two wickets at Edgbaston.

Resuming their innings on Day 3 at 278/4 in Lord’s, England first lost skipper Ben Stokes off Mitchell Starc‘s delivery, and then they also went on to lose well-set Harry Brook (50) due to bizarre shot selection. Brook’s dismissal didn’t go down well with many of the cricket experts and fans as the 24-year-old literally threw his wicket by hitting the short ball straight into the hands of Pat Cummins.

Among all, England’s former skipper Geoffrey Boycott was also left deeply disappointed with Brook’s approach and was seen covering his face with his hand in the stands after the English batter’s wicket. The video of the same was shared by a fan on social media and has ever since gone viral on the internet.

Here’s the video:

Throwing every away. #Bazball. #ECB. #England #Ashes #cricket. pic.twitter.com/t4ZXbxGzq3

— TonyNyman (@Tony_Nyman) June 30, 2023

On the other hand, another fan posted the image of a disappointed Boycott calling out the below-par batting display of En??gland, to which the ?legend responded by lashing out at the approach of English batters.

“This photo of @GeoffreyBoycott says all you need to know about England’s batting since about 5.30 last night. #rubbish #TheAshes,” wrote the fan.

“Yes it does, batting without brains. Chatting to my captain Mike Brearley,” replied Boycott.

Yes it does, batting without brains. Chatting to my captain Mike Brearley //t.co/gJMmUEPrbn

— Sir Geoffrey Boycott (@GeoffreyBoycott) June 30, 2023

Speaking of the ??match, Australia currently are in a dominating position with a lead of 221 runs and eight wickets still in hand until the stumps of Day 3.

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During the sixties and the mid-seventies, the Indian cricket team was blessed to have the services of Mansoor Ali Khan Pataudi, better known as ‘Tiger Pataudi’.

He led the Indian team in 40 test matches in the period between 19?61 to 1975 and was renowned for his flamboyant batsmanship as well as lightning fielding. H??e played 46 Test matches overall.

However, Pataudi played? through??out the entirety of his career with visual impairment. The former Indian captain lost his right eye during a car accident in England back in 1961.

Moreover, former England batsman Geoffrey Boycott once doubted about Pataudi’s visual impairment. Now, son Saif Ali Khan, a prominent entity in Bollywood, has opened up on how comments made by Boycott agitated him.

“Boycott, who I really looked up to, made me really angry one day. He said, ‘I heard about your father, it’s not possible to play Test cricket with one eye.’ I asked him if he thinks my father is lying, to which he replied, ‘Yes! I think he’s making it up,” Saif told Sportskeeda during a recent interaction.

After retirement from his game, Boycott enjoyed a successful stint as a commentator and was well-known for his controversial statements against Indian pl??ayers.

“I told my father that, and he got really annoyed. He said, ‘Well, I was bloody good with two eyes. I’m just good with one.’ That was the only arrogant remark I ever heard him make,” Bollywood’s ‘Nawabâ€?added.

Further, Saif commented that he looked up to his father’s carefree nature and suggested how he saw cricket as a sport.

“If he didn’t want to tour, he would say he wasn’t available. He said it was a game and he was losing interest in the game in the ’60s because he thought there was too much cricket,” Saif concluded.

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Former England cricketer and veteran commentator Geoffrey Boycott has stirred the headlines after his recent comments regarding women’s cricket comparison to men’s cricket have gone viral. A day after his departure from BBC’s Test Match Special commentary team, Boycotts said only those who have played men’s cricket at the highest level should be allowed to give expert analysis during a Test match.

“To provide the expert analysis you need to have experienced the heat of Test cricket and understand what it takes to succeed,” Boycott wrote in the London Telegraph.

“You have to know the pressure, emotions and technique required and I do not believe you can learn that from reading a book or because you played club cricket, second XI cricket or, with great respect, women’s cricket. As good as the women are at their game, it bears no resemblance to the power and pace of men’s cricket,” the 79-year-old added.

However, his statement has not gone down well with former Australia women cricketer Lisa Sthalekar. In a chat with Sydney Morning Herald, Sthalekar said the thought process is the same whether one plays men’s or women’s cricket.

“It, obviously, helps to have been in similar situations to go then: ‘This is what the players might be thinking’. But the thought process and how people play the game is still exactly the same whether you play men’s cricket or women’s cricket,” said Sthalekar.

Sthalekar opposed Boycott’s “power and pace” statement by mentioning that it has got nothing to do with power.

“It’s got nothing to do with power. The other thing as well, and this is for guys as women’s cricket is pretty cool and sexy at the moment, everyone is jumping on the bandwagon, but we need to remember that we don’t need guys coming in asking women to compare it to men’s because it is not. It is different,” the former Australia women captain added.

The former New South Wales cricketer specified that giving the same logic; males shouldn’t comment on women’s cricket either.

“The same argument for him is that we shouldn’t have any males commentating on our game because they have never played against females. But that is not what we (cricket) are about,” Sthalekar added further.

Sthalekar then stated that she didn’t see much power exhibited by Boycott when he played Test cricket.

“It’s time for him to leave the game and let’s remember him as a great cricketer of a certain generation. Talk about power – I didn’t see much power that he displayed,” the Pune-born analysed.

The cricketer-turned-commentator further paid attention to Boycott’s strike-rate and claimed some women cricketers would have had a better strike rate than him.

“Let’s call up his strike rate and look at some of the numbers compared to female Test cricketers of even that generation. I think some of the female cricketers would have had a better strike rate than he did,” concluded Sthalekar.

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Most of the batsmen in today’s era prefer hitting sixes to increase their strike rate and teams total but there were players who preferred ticking the scoreboard with quick singles and the most they could manage is a four. When cricketers like Chris Gayle and Shahid Afridi hits sixes for fun, these batsmen didn’t manage to hit even one.

Here are 5 batsmen who didn’t smash even a single six in their ODI career :

5.) Callum Ferguson (Australia)

He made his international debut for Australia back in 2009 and ??has played 30 ODI matches for them. He scored 663 runs at an average of 40-plus with 5 half-centuries ??but has never hit a six in One Day International.

4.) Manoj Prabhakar (India)

Former Indian all-rounder played 130 One Day International matches and scored 1858 runs in 98 innings. Even after two hundred and 11 half-centuries, he never cleared the fence i??n ODI cricket.

3.) Geoffrey Boycott (England)

The legenda?ry English batsman scored more than 1,000 runs ?in his ODI career but his strokes never had the elevation. He scored 5 half-centuries and a hundred in his ODI career.

2.) Thilan Samaraweera (Sri Lanka)

Sri Lanka’s efficient batsman played 53 One Day International (ODI) matches and scored 862 runs. He also scored 2 hundred but didn’t even smash a single six in his 42 innings.

1.) Dion Ebrahim (Zimbabwe)

The Zimbabwean batsman couldn’t hit a six both in Tests and ODIs. He played 82 ODI matches and scored one ODI ton along with four half-centuries.

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