Boycott criticizes Cook....

[toosb]

Cook will outshine Boycott by the end of his career by a long way

Statistically of course he will. But Boycott was facing the most fearsome attack ever at the age of 41, and scoring runs against them.

He also batted on some appalling wickets at times.

 

[vinegar hill]

Statistically of course he will. But Boycott was facing the most fearsome attack ever at the age of 41, and scoring runs against them.

He also batted on some appalling wickets at times.

At the time of the '74/'75 series in Australia when Lillee and Thompson were wreaking havoc Boycott was in a strop and conveniently taking a 3 and a half year self imposed exile from playing for England.

 

[rentaghost]

At the time of the '74/'75 series in Australia when Lillee and Thompson were wreaking havoc Boycott was in a strop and conveniently taking a 3 and a half year self imposed exile from playing for England.

But didnt when he was 41 against Holding, Roberts, Garner and Marshall in their pomp? Holding has described many times how courageous a batsman Boycott was compared to his team mates. Not entirely sure what your point is.

 

[Paddy O'Dors]

Statistically of course he will. But Boycott was facing the most fearsome attack ever at the age of 41, and scoring runs against them.

He also batted on some appalling wickets at times.

I always remember Boycott as a bloke who if he had the choice of a quick 50 to help his team or a turgid 100 to boost his average would have chose the latter every time without exception.

At the time of the '74/'75 series in Australia when Lillee and Thompson were wreaking havoc Boycott was in a strop and conveniently taking a 3 and a half year self imposed exile from playing for England.

Think Lillee and/or Thompson were injured in the series we played between 74-77.

 

[vinegar hill]

I always remember Boycott as a bloke who if he had the choice of a quick 50 to help his team or a turgid 100 to boost his average would have chose the latter every time without exception.



Think Lillee and/or Thompson were injured in the series we played between 74-77.

Lillee and Thompson played in the '74/'75 series in Australia and destroyed the England batting.Boycott was miffed with the England management to this day nobody really knows why, but he refused to play for England for about 3 and a half years which included that series.
I like Boycott he says it as he sees it and he was a great technically correct batsman but he was very selfish and he can be a prick.

 

[Mr Redknapp]

Lillee and Thompson played in the '74/'75 series in Australia and destroyed the England batting.Boycott was miffed with the England management to this day nobody really knows why, but he refused to play for England for about 3 and a half years which included that series.
I like Boycott he says it as he sees it and he was a great technically correct batsman but he was very selfish and he can be a prick.

I heard it was because Mike Denness was made captain and not him.

 

[eddyfinn]

Boycott is correct in what he says about Cooks innings. Geoff played in a different era where strike rates were not seen as hugely important, no helmets so less batsmen hooked and pulled just defended the short ball and most importantly poor pitches.

The pitch and bowling attack were all in favour of cook and he should have quickened sharply after he had reached 200 as the game was already pretty much englands

 

[vinegar hill]

Boycott is correct in what he says about Cooks innings. Geoff played in a different era where strike rates were not seen as hugely important, no helmets so less batsmen hooked and pulled just defended the short ball and most importantly poor pitches.

The pitch and bowling attack were all in favour of cook and he should have quickened sharply after he had reached 200 as the game was already pretty much englands

Maybe that's why,there was still 3 days to go time wasn't an issue.I'm sure if the game situation regarding time demanded that he quickened up he would have.

 

[eddyfinn]

Maybe that's why,there was still 3 days to go time wasn't an issue.I'm sure if the game situation regarding time demanded that he quickened up he would have.

we had enough runs, we also could have bowled more overs in the evening session which was perfect for bowling also who knows what weather could have come in as the test match wasn't exactly played in sunshine. The test turned into a waiting game as nothing bar cook getting to 300 was happening. If he hadn't of been reaching 300 we would have declared 15 overs before hand

 

[The Breen Machine]

It's often been said that Boycott missed the 74/75 tour to Australia as he didn't fancy facing Lillee and Thompson. That simply has to be absolute rubbish as he didn't just pull out of that tour, he made himself unavailable half way through the summer series against India as he was huffed about Denness getting the captaincy and he was struggling to get on with him. At that point Lillee had not long returned from a career threatening injury and Thompson had played one test and looked innocuous, no-one could have really predicted the impact they would have in that series. Boycott chose not to return to test cricket for another 2 years aswell due to problems with the Yorkshire committee and his mother battling cancer.

Cook will no doubt end up with a better record than him, but thats partially down to more test matches being played now and central contracts. Boycott used to regularly score 2000 runs a season for Yorkshire aswell as scoring consistently for England so I don't think you will ever be able to say Cook is/was a better player than Sir Geoffrey.

 

[toosb]

It's often been said that Boycott missed the 74/75 tour to Australia as he didn't fancy facing Lillee and Thompson. That simply has to be absolute rubbish as he didn't just pull out of that tour, he made himself unavailable half way through the summer series against India as he was huffed about Denness getting the captaincy and he was struggling to get on with him. At that point Lillee had not long returned from a career threatening injury and Thompson had played one test and looked innocuous, no-one could have really predicted the impact they would have in that series. Boycott chose not to return to test cricket for another 2 years aswell due to problems with the Yorkshire committee and his mother battling cancer.

Cook will no doubt end up with a better record than him, but thats partially down to more test matches being played now and central contracts. Boycott used to regularly score 2000 runs a season for Yorkshire aswell as scoring consistently for England so I don't think you will ever be able to say Cook is/was a better player than Sir Geoffrey.

Spot on.

The fact that at 41, Boycott's wicket was still the one the WI wanted most said it all.

In those days, pitches were not friendly like they are now. At Trent Bridge and Leeds, 250 was always a good score.

 

[The Breen Machine]

Spot on.

The fact that at 41, Boycott's wicket was still the one the WI wanted most said it all.

In those days, pitches were not friendly like they are now. At Trent Bridge and Leeds, 250 was always a good score.

Exactly, and in his first test back after exile, Boycott at the age of 37, batted all 5 days on a Trent Bridge pitch against an Australian attack which included Lillee.

He may have been a bit one paced but he had such an appetite for runs and that is down to great self-made skill.

 

[toosb]

Exactly, and in his first test back after exile, Boycott at the age of 37, batted all 5 days on a Trent Bridge pitch against an Australian attack which included Lillee.

He may have been a bit one paced but he had such an appetite for runs and that is down to great self-made skill.

Thomson actually. Lillee missed the 1977 tour.

 

[The Breen Machine]

Thomson actually. Lillee missed the 1977 tour.

I thought it was the other way around but I shall bow to your superior memory as you were around at the time and I wasn't

Aussies still had a decent enough attack without Lillee tbf, Hogg, Pascoe, Walker, Gilmour were all handy test match bowlers.

 

[toosb]

I thought it was the other way around but I shall bow to your superior memory as you were around at the time and I wasn't

Aussies still had a decent enough attack without Lillee tbf, Hogg, Pascoe, Walker, Gilmour were all handy test match bowlers.

Hogg and Gilmour weren't on that tour either

Len Pascoe was a brute of a fast bowler.

You also have to remember that England didn't bat down to 10 in those days, so there was far more pressure on the top order.

I am not knocking Cook, he has done superbly and has a great temperament.

I guess it is typically English for people to not be able to praise him without having a dig at an ex-player.

 

[The Breen Machine]

Hogg and Gilmour weren't on that tour either

Len Pascoe was a brute of a fast bowler.

You also have to remember that England didn't bat down to 10 in those days, so there was far more pressure on the top order.

I am not knocking Cook, he has done superbly and has a great temperament.

I guess it is typically English for people to not be able to praise him without having a dig at an ex-player.

I wasn't sure if they were, just talking in general

There's so many reasons why it's unfair to compare Cook and Boycott, central contracts, amount of international cricket played, better pitches, worse bowlers and also one that often goes missed, huge advancement in technology and specialised coaching. 20 plus years ago you didn't have about 10 specialist coaches and someone the quality of Graham Gooch as your batting coach and Andy Flower as your overall coach, and you couldn't go and watch 100 replays of yourself getting out as your head falls away again.

 

[CHARLIE COROLE]

I'm really struggling to understand these theories about Cook. He batted two and a bit days for nearly 300 at a strike rate of 50. Pietersen, Morgan, Prior and Bell score at a quicker rate to keep us scoring at above 3.5 an over which is perfectly fine in five days of cricket. England batted and left themselves two and a bit days to bowl India out and now they are 3 down with two days to play.

With the above in mind, and a 3-1 series victory in Australia behind us (where Cook batted in a similar fashion), what is the big deal about Alistair Cook's strike rate? It's crackers to be honest. If it was costing us wins then fair enough but if anything it's gaining us wins

You miss the point. He can improve as a batsman.And probably will.

 

[Steve H]

Sorry Boycs, but he is a hero as far as I am concerned. We have the best team in my lifetime, and he is one of the stars.

 

[mickey]

Sorry Boycs, but he is a hero as far as I am concerned. We have the best team in my lifetime, and he is one of the stars.

True but, and its a big but, every professional sportsman must have the drive to become better and develop new techniques that will improve his performance. At test level, Cook is one paced as a batsman (and, providing he doesn't get out early, usually good for a high score) yet there are times when the ability to accelerate is essential. I think Cook needs to master the straight drive as he can be unable to score when the bowler offers no balls to cut or pull.

Great current record, though.

 

[TwasOnTheFifthOfMay]

And that was in a one-day match.......

I'll have you know he scored a record 146 in a Lords final. 6s all ower the place.

Cook will outshine Boycott by the end of his career by a long way

I have 2 words for you to rearrange into a well known phrase: "pitches" and "uncovered".

I'm really struggling to understand these theories about Cook. He batted two and a bit days for nearly 300 at a strike rate of 50. Pietersen, Morgan, Prior and Bell score at a quicker rate to keep us scoring at above 3.5 an over which is perfectly fine in five days of cricket. England batted and left themselves two and a bit days to bowl India out and now they are 3 down with two days to play.

With the above in mind, and a 3-1 series victory in Australia behind us (where Cook batted in a similar fashion), what is the big deal about Alistair Cook's strike rate? It's crackers to be honest. If it was costing us wins then fair enough but if anything it's gaining us wins

You are spot on, you need both types of batsmen in a balanced team, the anchor and the hitter.

Just out of interest from the start to the end of his Boycotts test career how many years or test matches did he miss for self imposed exiles etc

After the April 1974 tour of the Windies he didn't play until the 3rd test in 1977. We didn't tour in 75/76 so off the top of my head that would be about 28 tests.