England great Sir Geoffrey Boycott has given his countrymen both barrels in a brutal column that leaves no doubt major changes are required.
“England are going nowhere. They are bottom of the World Test Championship. The batting is dodgy and the bowling is ordinary,” he wrote in the UK Telegraph.
“They need a rocket up the backside from a new head coach with some fresh ideas who will get stuck into some of these guys with some strong words.”
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The comments come in the wake of England’s heavy loss in the West Indies, which saw the home side clinch the series, and extend Joe Root’s brutal run at the helm of the team.
After winning their first three Tests on the bounce in 2021, England have now won just one of their last 17.
“Joe Root is incapable of lifting these players,” Boycott said.
“Maybe the players and coaches are too comfortable supporting and patting each other on the back and there needs to be a shake up or change in personnel. England are not losing because they are unlucky.
“They lose because they just aren’t good enough.”
Michael Vaughan yesterday urged Root to quit as captain for his own good, while other former greats have also called for change.
Boycott said there were still huge question marks surrounding Zak Crawley, Alex Lees, Dan Lawrence and Ollie Pope, as Joe Root struggles for support in terms of making runs.
”What have we learned about our Test team from three matches against the West Indies? Very little. The batting is still wobbly and prone to sudden collapses,” he said.
He was equally critical at the other end of the line-up, criticising Chris Woakes for a lack of cutting edge and Mark Wood for his inability to stay healthy.
“It is clear to anyone with any ounce of cricket knowledge that England’s seam bowling is not special,” he said.
England will have three months to lick their wounds before a June Test series against New Zealand.
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