The England men's cricket has had a challenging last one year. They struggled badly at the Cricket World Cup 2023 in India, finishing at the seventh position in the 10-team competition with three wins out of nine matches.

Amid a lot of anticipation, the Three Lions toured India for a five-match Test series earlier this year but their 'Bazball' approach turned out to be a complete failure. The Ben Stokes-led side succumbed to a 1-4 series defeat.

During the recently held T20 World Cup in the Caribbean and USA, England failed to a make a big mark. While the Jos Buttler-led side made it to the semis, they managed to defeat only one Test-playing nation, the West Indies, throughout the tournament.

No wonder, former cricketer Geoffrey Boycott has sharply criticized the England team for their abysmal display.

The 83-year-old took a rather unusual jibe, saying that even "moderate to average" English players are getting rich from their participation in the lucrative Indian Premier League.

“All we have had over the last few months is the Twenty20 World Cup in the Caribbean, where England performed poorly, the Indian Premier League, which helped a few of our moderate to average Test players get rich,” Boycott wrote in his column for The Telegraph.

“Before that, a miserable 4-1 Test series loss in India where England started well, but in the end were hammered,” he added.

"In India last winter, ego and hubris got the better of some of our players. They came out with comments about being entertainers and how it was important to score quickly and thrill the crowds. All that is laudable but they should never lose sight that there is a winner and a loser and losing isn’t much fun,” he further remarked.

Known for his candid opinions, Boycott said if the England players are not concerned about the result, they might well join a circus.

“Test match cricket is not an exhibition. If our players start to think that results don’t matter then they might as well join a circus or go around the world like the Harlem Globetrotters basketball team doing tricks, laughing and joking, and not bothering who wins so long as everyone has a fun time,” he wrote.

England haven’t won a Test series since December 2022. Last year, they played a 1-1 drew series in New Zealand before failing to retain the home Ashes which was followed by thrashing at the hands of India earlier this year.