England Seemed More Intent On Hitting Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami Instead Of Getting Them Out, Affirms Geoffrey Boycott

Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott said the way England bowlers were dealing with Indian tail-enders it seemed they wanted to hit them rather than taking their wickets.

On Monday,  Jasprit Bumrah was first involved in an unbeaten 89-run stand with Mohammed Shami, who hit his career’s second half-century. The duo’s fightback pushed India’s lead to 270 runs with Bumrah scoring 34 runs off 64 balls.

England seemed on hitting Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami instead of getting them out: Geoffrey Boycott

England bowlers barged with short balls against the duo of Bumrah and Shami but couldn’t find their wicket as the pair kept going and smacked boundaries to push India’s lead to 270 after which Indian skipper Virat Kohli declared the innings.

Boycott said England was trying to take revenge against Bumrah, who bowled in a similar manner to their talisman bowler James Anderson on the third day of the Lord’s Test.

“Tempers were frayed. Heated words were exchanged as England seemed more intent on hitting Bumrah and Mohammed Shami instead of getting them out,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

“Joe had been doing well with his field placings and captaincy but seeing Jasprit Bumrah at the crease was like a red rag to a bull. He encouraged Mark Wood to just pepper him with fast short balls. It is obvious the England captain and some of his players wanted payback for the working over Bumrah gave James Anderson in the first innings.

“The tail swiped and edged. The field spread out on both sides of the wickets to stop the run-scoring and England suffered the embarrassment of India declaring,” he added. 

England cannot keep relying on Joe Root for all their runs: Geoffrey Boycott

Bumrah & co later rattled through England’s defences to bowl them out for 120 as India won by 151 runs to take a 1-0 lead in the five-match series. Joe Root once again top-scored with his 33 runs but failed to survive on the crease, which was the major difference in the game.

Boycott is of the popular opinion that England should avoid depending on their skipper to score the major amount of runs and asked the top-order to step up.

“This Test match has proven two things. Firstly, if you are stupid, you do not deserve to win Test matches. As much as we love Joe Root for his magnificent batting, he cocked up with his tactics,” Boycott said. 

“Secondly, England cannot keep relying on Joe for all their runs. There has to be an improvement from the top three very soon because it is getting beyond a joke,” he added. 

Also Read:England Opting To Bowl First At Lord’s Wasn’t An Ideal Decision, States Sachin Tendulkar