Alastair Cook, Ian Bell should not be part of ODI team: Geoffrey Boycott

September 2, 2014

London, Sep 2: Slamming the English cricket team for batting like “chumps” against world champions India, former England captain Geoffrey Boycott has said skipper Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Joe Root should not be a part of the one-day side.

Geoffrey Boycott
“England have gone into this series with three orthodox batsmen in our top four in Alastair Cook, Ian Bell and Joe Root. They are lovely technical batsmen for Test cricket but you should not have all three of them in your one-day team,”

Boycott wrote in his column in ‘The Telegraph’.

The legendary batsman also said there was a dearth of spinners and a dearth of batsmen who can play the spinning ball in the England team.

“It is quite clear why England are struggling in one-day cricket at the moment: they cannot play the turning ball. We are playing the world champions, India, and we bat like chumps,” Boycott said.

Even as England play slow bowling well on flat pitches when it does not spin, Boycott said the batsmen struggle when the ball is turning.

“It is a different ball game when the ball turns. Then they are creasebound and terrified to use their feet against the spinners. At Trent Bridge on Saturday, India had four spinners who bowled 30 overs and took six for 112 between them. It was not a raging turner, it just turned a little bit, and it was not the first time this had happened to England,”

Boycott said.

Criticising the selection of Chris Woakes, Chris Jordan and Ben Stokes, Boycott said they are all exactly the same, bowling at a similar pace and having no variations.

“After the match Cook admitted England selected them because all three can bat. It was a safety-first policy to get England out of trouble with late-order runs if the batsmen failed. We are still thinking in the old fashioned way from when I played, pack your batting and bowl fast medium line and length.

“That only works on seaming swinging pitches but the next World Cup is in Australia and New Zealand and will not have those types of pitches,” he said.

“They are guilty of selecting the ODI team on Test performances and central contracts, this is wrong thinking,” Boycott added.

The former captain said that the team must learn to accept constructive criticism from ex-players.

“Just look how Cook responded when his ‘so-called friend’ (Graeme) Swann made constructive comments about England’s one-day team and Cook got his ‘knickers in a twist’,” Boycott said.

“Now Swann has retired and it seems (Monty) Panesar has lost his focus. We cannot play spinners and we do not have one to bowl at the opposition,” he concluded.

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News Network
March 22,2024

IPL.jpg

The start of the world’s most lucrative cricket tournament in India is presenting investors with another big opportunity to cash in on the sport, months after the world’s most populous nation hosted the Cricket World Cup.

The eight-week long Indian Premier League begins March 22 for its 17th season. Since its inception, the fast-paced cricket tournament has become a corporate juggernaut to rival the National Football League in the US and the English Premier League in value.

Just as October’s Cricket World Cup boosted consumption in India for months, fans are expected to flock to restaurants, pubs and food delivery platforms over the duration of the tournament. This year’s IPL also coincides with general elections that will last for six weeks starting April 19, a period when companies are expecting higher food and drink sales as people flock to rallies and other events.

“There’s going to be a lot of spending,” said Madan Sabnavis, chief economist at Bank of Baroda. “IPL, as well as the election, gives a three-month corridor with enhanced economic activity.”

Stocks in India such as McDonald’s franchise operator Westlife Foodworld Ltd. and peer Sapphire Foods India Ltd. gained ahead of the first match on Friday, as well as hotels and beverage makers. Packaged-food companies could also stand to benefit from the IPL craze, said Sachil Bobade, an analyst at investment firm Dolat Capital Market.

The IPL ecosystem was valued at $11 billion (Rs 91,721 crores) in 2023, including the value of media rights and sponsorships, according to Indian valuation consulting firm D&P Advisory.

The league is also attracting record sums of money from sponsors and broadcasters. Conglomerate Tata Group won the title sponsorship rights of the tournament in January for a record 25 billion rupees ($300 million). Billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s media venture secured the digital streaming rights in 2022 for five years for $2.7 billion, while Walt Disney Co. paid roughly the same for TV rights.

“There was a serious amount of bidding even this year,” said Vinit Karnik, head of entertainment, esports and sports at media agency GroupM South Asia. “I see growth in IPL in double digits year-on-year,” he adds.

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