Ashes 2021-22: The Planning Was All Wrong - Geoffrey Boycott Berates Joe Root's Men After Loss At Gabba

Former England cricketer Geoffrey Boycott didn’t hold back on his criticism as he lashed out at Joe Root and co. after a dismal outing in the first Test of the Ashes at the Gabba.

England was bowled out for 147 in the first innings following which, the Aussies gained a 278-run lead courtesy of a Travis Head special. Although they showed some teeth in their second essay, England eventually lost the game by 9 wickets.

“Hey Joe! England have just been walloped by nine wickets so it isn’t a good time to be telling us that England are not far away from beating Australia. It would be much better if you and your team answered with deeds and not words. Face up to the fact that they made mistakes which didn’t help our team.“

“For a start, your batsmen and bowlers looked underdone and should have had three or four competitive matches before the series. The planning was all wrong,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

Geoffrey Boycott points out the mistake with Jack Leach’s inclusion

In the first innings, the Aussies went after Jack Leach, the solitary spinner on the English team. He gave away 102 runs in just thirteen overs, completely derailing any sort of momentum that the visitors had gathered at the halfway stage. However, Boycott believes Leach wasn’t the man at fault.

“Jack Leach hadn’t played a Test match for nine months since early March in India. He didn’t get a game during the English summer as England played lots of seamers – and then suddenly they expected Jack to bowl well in Brisbane.

“No wonder the Aussies went after him and in 13 overs he was whacked for 102 runs. I felt for the lad. Not his fault. Why are we so bloody stupid? We make it extra difficult before we even start the series,” Boycott questioned.

The long tour may get even longer for the Englishmen if they fail in the second Test at the Adelaide Oval, which begins on December 16.

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