Team India has been ruthless in the ongoing five-match Test series in England. They have bowled out their opponents twice on the final day. The team has stood up to verbal battles and has given it back to England.
England, on the other hand, has been the ‘nice guys’ after the first Test where they could not handle the heat and pressure of banters.
Former England opener Sir Geoffrey Boycott said that captain Joe Root and his men had to stop being nice. He added that the captain and coach Silverwood had to learn from Virat Kohli’s warrior-like attitude.
"Virat Kohli has been a warrior captain going into battle and saying to his players: 'Follow me. Believe in me. I'm up for the challenge.' Joe Root and the coach Chris Silverwood have to do the same. No more platitudes, no more being nice," wrote Boycott in his column for The Telegraph on Wednesday.
The former England captain criticized England’s batting and wrote that Joe Root could not save them with a big knock every time.
"A few of the England batsmen need to be told straight that when they get in, make hundreds. When the going gets tough, show some battle. Something has to change. They cannot keep waiting for one spectacular inning from Joe to win the match,” he wrote.
"They folded in the second innings, losing four wickets for six runs in 36 balls. Where was the steel? Where was the backbone? It is not about technique or how pretty you look. You have to be tough and fight it out in Test cricket and England don't seem able to do it," added Boycott.
Boycott mentioned players of the past who were not very talented but played with big hearts and could handle pressure.
“I played with some cricketers who did not have the talent of these batsmen but they had big hearts. David Steele, Peter Willey, and Basil D'Oliveira were tough men and good cricketers under pressure. Some people handle the pressure, others crumble. And we are crumbling now,” he said.
The 80-year old wrote that the Australian pacers would have a close eye on the English batsmen ahead of the Ashes later this year.
"The Australians will have watched the footage from the Oval. Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will be queuing up to bowl at us,” said Boycott.
He opined that England batsmen had to handle pressure in tense situations and have to stand up to the occasion instead of collapsing under it.
"The England batsmen need to stand in front of a mirror and be honest with themselves. Ask what is going through their mind in tight situations? Whatever it is, change it because it is not working. Everybody has nerves, expectations, and heightened emotions when batting but we have to conquer them and play well. Our guys just collapse under pressure,” he said.
The former batsman concluded with a quote from Keith Miller and said that he wanted to see toughness in England batsmen and not just eye-pleasing strokes.
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"You have to ask yourself, what is pressure? As Keith Miller famously said: "Pressure is when you have a Messerschmitt up your arse going to blow you to kingdom come."
He was saying that pressure, when you are batting, is not the same as when your life is on the line and you could lose it in a second. You have to handle it. Our guys are just not doing that. Looking good, being pleasing on the eye and a nice lad doesn't help the team in tight spots. Give me tough over good every time,” Boycott concluded.
(With IANS inputs)
