IND vs ENG | England batsmen need to work on their weakness before Ashes, asserts Geoffrey Boycott

09/09/2021

Geoffrey Boycott has stated that the English batsmen need to work on their weakness the Ashes series later this year in Australia. He added that the likes of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will be looking to exploit the weaknesses of the batters from their observation of the ongoing series.

Boycott’s comments have come after England lost the fourth Test against India at The Oval recently. England faced a batting collapse on Day 5 after starting strongly with a century partnership for the opening wicket. Later, England were bundled out for 210 and lost the match by 157 runs.

“The Australians will have watched the footage from the Oval. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will be queuing up to bowl at us. 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,” Boycott wrote.

Ahead of the fifth and final Test at Old Trafford in Manchester, England is behind by 1-2 in the series, and are staring at their first ever home-series defeat against India since 2007.

Boycott stated that England's over-reliance on skipper Joe Root has cost them dearly in recent times, and that's something which needs to be addressed as early as possible. Root has been the only batsman to score a century in this series for the hosts, notching up three of them, and has aggregated a whopping 564 runs at an average of 94 from seven innings.

“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,” Boycott further wrote.

The fifth and final Test will be played at Old Trafford, Manchester, beginning September 10.