Geoffrey Boycott criticizes 'flat track bullies' England after series loss to Pakistan in cricket

Former England opening batter Geoffrey Boycott did not hold back in his criticism of the Ben Stokes-led England team following their 2-1 series loss against Pakistan. Despite a convincing win in the first Test on a flat pitch in Multan, England struggled in the next two Tests on turning wickets. The spin duo of Sajid Khan and Noman Ali proved to be too much for the English batsmen, leading to their second series loss in Asia in 2024. Boycott's words serve as a stark reminder of the challenges England face in subcontinental conditions.

In the first Test in Multan, England put a score of 823/7 decl. at a run-rate of 5.48. After England ended up winning the Test, Pakistan resorted to turning tracks for the remaining two Tests, and as a result, England just added 814 runs in the remaining four innings.

Noman Ali and Sajid Khan took 39 wickets between them in the two Tests, scripting a famous comeback 2-1 series win for Pakistan.

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Boycott said, "If you want to be rated a great batsman, you must have a rounded game and score runs on all types of pitches."

“They are entertaining and fantastic to watch because you never know what they are going to do next, good or bad, but Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum want their team to be the best. Unfortunately they are wasting their opportunity and risk being remembered as flat-track bullies unless they make some adjustments for conditions," he added while labelling England's batting lineup as 'brainless Bazballers'.

Geoffrey Boycott was also criticial of Ben Stokes, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope’s techniques against spin. For the unversed, England had suffered a 3-1 series defeat against India earlier this year.

"For two Test matches our batting was pathetic against spin. In India earlier this year the batsmen were weak and easily spun out," he said.

“As soon as the ball grips Zak Crawley, Ollie Pope, Harry Brook and Stokes are all at sea. They go at the ball with hard hands and there are gaps between bat and pad,” Boycott added.

Speaking further, he said, “The saddest thing is that England do not play in India or Pakistan again on spinning pitches for nearly three years…It was annoying to hear the England players saying after the Pakistan series defeat: “That’s how we as a group play,” Boycott lamented.

Speaking of England, the Three Lions have so far played 19 Tests in the ongoing World Test Championship (WTC) cycle, and they have managed to win just nine games.

England's WTC cycle will come to an end with the upcoming three-Test series in New Zealand in November-December.