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EspañolGEOFFREY BOYCOTT
(Redirected from Geoff Boycott)
'Geoffrey Boycott' OBE (born October 21 1940) is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In an illustrious, but sometimes controversial career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's finest opening batsmen. He followed up his playing career by becoming an often outspoken cricket commentator on both radio and television. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1965.
Boycott was born in the mining village of Fitzwilliam in Yorkshire and began playing for his home county in 1962 after impressing in league cricket. He won his Yorkshire Cap in 1963 and was the Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year in 1963. His batting was based on a watertight defensive technique, with his favourite scoring shots being the on drive and forcing through the covers off the back foot. His grindingly effective style, honed through endless hours of obsessive net practice, gained him a reputation for being dour, perhaps reflecting his dogged personality.
Though he became renowned for his ability to occupy the crease for hours he was capable of attacking play when the spirit moved him. His highest one day score was a swashbuckling match-winning 146 for Yorkshire in the 1965 Gillette Cup final against Surrey.[1] In his previous Gillette Cup match, the quarter final against Somerset, Boycott had taken 32 overs to accumulate 23[2] and so at Lord's, after Yorkshire had plodded to 22 for 1, captain Brian Close promoted himself to number 3 to urge Boycott into action. "I joined Geoffrey in the middle and said to him: "Listen, if I call, you bloody well run." Boycott and Ray Illingworth, who also played in the match, however said that the point of Close's promotion was that Close was a left-handed batsman who would be able to play the Somerset left-arm spinner David Sydenham with more ease than his right-handed team-mates. Indeed, Boycott claimed this plan had been agreed on a fortnight previously.
Brian Close wrote in his autobiography, ''I Don't Bruise Easily'', about how he told Boycott to "start looking for ones" and "put some force into your shots" and then, after he stroked a boundary, said "Bloody marvellous. Now hit everything." He did, making 146 with 15 fours and three sixes. One of these shots, a lofted straight drive off England paceman Geoff Arnold was nearly caught by Boycott's team mates on the players' balcony. This was all the more remarkable given the fact that modern-day fielding restrictions did not apply in 1965. Close and Boycott added 194 for the second wicket as Yorkshire posed a then record 317. Boycott disputes Close's account of his chanceless innings however. "At no time did Close tell me to get on with it or anything remotely similar. Those who believe otherwise are mistaken." Whatever the circumstances of its inception, John Woodcock wrote in The Times that "His magnificent innings contained every stroke in the book." 17 years later, in 1982, Boycott and Graham Stevenson added a record 149 for Yorkshire's tenth wicket against Warwickshire; Stevenson smashing 115.
In 414 matches for Yorkshire he scored 32,570 runs at 57.85 with a best score of 260
★ against Essex and 103 centuries in all. He scored another 8,699 runs in List A one day cricket at 40.08. He twice averaged over 100 for an English first class season, 100.12 in 1971 and 102.53 in 1979 and remains the only player to have achieved this rare feat twice.
He was made captain of Yorkshire in 1971 but was sacked in controversial circumstances in 1978 after failing to win a trophy while in charge. There was more strife when he was dismissed and then reinstated as a player after a grassroots members revolt. He was known to be a divisive figure in the club, with strong emotions on both sides. He clashed with other strong personalities at the club during his career, including Fred Trueman, Brian Close and Ray Illingworth but remained hugely popular with the Yorkshire crowds.
Boycott began his Test career only two years after his first class debut, in the first Test of the summer against Australia. Over the next 18 years he scored 8,114 runs in 108 Test matches for England. He was the first England cricketer to pass 8,000 Test runs and is still fourth on England's all-time run scoring list (behind Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and David Gower). His average of 47.73 runs over 193 innings is second only to Kevin Pietersen among England players since 1970. His Test career included 22 centuries (an England record that he holds jointly with Wally Hammond and Colin Cowdrey).
Boycott was always a controversial figure. His highest Test score was 246 not out against India in June 1967 on his home ground of Headingley, but he was dropped for the next match for slow scoring (even though England won comfortably by six wickets). He had come into the test in wretched form, scoring just 124 runs in his previous nine innings including his only pair in county cricket, and fought grimly to restore his touch through his 10 hour innings. While out of the team for the second test he amassed 584 runs for Yorkshire in four innings for just once out and was soon reinstated to the Test team.
He spent three years from 1974-77 in self-imposed exile from the England team. He claimed he had simply lost his appetite for Test cricket , but the move may also have been linked to the appointments of Mike Denness and then Tony Greig as England Captain in preference to him. Boycott was very critical of both Denness' captaincy and standard of batting in his autobiography. This period of "exile" arguably enabled him to avoid fast-bowlers Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Andy Roberts, and Michael Holding at their peaks, although he came back to face the West Indies pace battery at its most fearsome in the late 70s and early 80s.
In his autobiography and an interview, Boycott has responded to these accusations by pointing out that Lillee had been out of cricket for 21 months suffering from a serious back complaint and that Thomson had not played in Tests for 23 months prior to the 1974-75 Ashes series since an unsuccessful debut Test against Pakistan (Thomson's match figures were 0-110).[3] In Barbados in January 1974, playing for the touring England XI, he scored a career-best 261 not out against a West Indies Board President's XI including Andy Roberts and a young Michael Holding.[4]
England did not lose a test match in which he scored a century and only 20 of his 108 Tests ended in defeat, mainly when he failed to blunt the new ball attack. He won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for his Test Match century in 222 balls for England against the Rest of the World at The Oval in 1970. The Trophy was presented for the most meritorious innings of the series as opposed to the fastest century that year. Surprisingly, for a man with such a run hungry reputation, only 3 of his Test tons passed 150. He was dismissed for 99 in the first innings against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1973-74 and scored 112 in the second. Holding did master him on occasion, bowling him for a duck at Bridgetown in March 1981 with the final ball of perhaps the most fearsome first over in test history.
In his "comeback" Test against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1977 he famously ran out Derek Randall in front of his home crowd before going to make a century. In this match, in which Ian Botham made his England debut, he confirmed his ability to occupy the crease by batting on each of the five days of the match: his first innings 107 started at the end of the first day, he batted throughout the second day and was dismissed on the third day; he started his second innings at the end of day four and batted throughout England's successful run chase scoring 80 not out. Among England batsmen, only Allan Lamb and Andrew Flintoff have emulated this feat of batting on all five days. On 11/12 August 1977 he scored 191 against Australia in the fourth Test in front of an adoring full house at his home ground of Leeds, becoming the first cricketer to score his one hundredth first class century in a Test match and the fourth English player to be on the field for the entire duration of a Test Match [5]. Boycott reached the milestone with a characteristic punched on drive from the bowling of Greg Chappell through mid-on for four [6]. Thereupon followed a pitch invasion, during which Boycott's cap was temporarily taken by a souvenir hunter [7].
Appointed vice-captain for the ensuing tour of Pakistan and New Zealand that winter, Boycott took over as captain in 1978 for two Tests when Mike Brearley was injured. In one match, the rest of the team in the pavilion decided that Boycott was scoring so slowly that he was in danger of costing England the match; Botham ran him out, later claiming in his autobiography that he had done it deliberately. Indeed, some have suggested that this was a team order.. Boycott disputes the suggestion that the run-out was deliberate in his autobiography, referring to the story as "a tale which becomes more fanciful with every telling".
During the 1978-79 Ashes series, Boycott unusually went in at No. 11 in the second innings of a match against state side South Australia (not due to injury).[8]
Against Australia at Perth in 1979-80, he became the first man to be marooned on 99 not out in a Test when he ran out of partners. He was the first batsman to receive a ball in a one day international and his was the first wicket to fall. Boycott was also a medium-pace inswing bowler, often bowling while wearing his cap turned back-to-front in jaunty fashion. He was never a genuine all-rounder but took seven wickets at Test level at an average of 54.57.
The "controversial" tag for Boycott comes from many incidents spread over his playing career, but two in particular stand out. During an England tour of India he claimed that he was too ill to field in a Test Match, but it was later discovered that he was playing golf while his teammates were still out on the field; this led to being dropped from the side. He claimed in his autobiography that he went to the golf course following medical advice to get fresh air.
Such was his longevity in the game that he had 16 opening partners for England - Dennis Amiss (19 innings), Bob Barber (26), Ken Barrington (1), Mike Brearley (21), Alan Butcher (2), Colin Cowdrey (2), John Edrich (35), Graham Gooch (49), Wayne Larkins (2), Brian Luckhurst (12), Colin Milburn (6), John Murray (2), Derek Randall (3), Brian Rose (6), Eric Russell (3) and Fred Titmus (2).
In 1982 he was instrumental in organizing, in defiance of a United Nations and TCCB ban, a so-called "rebel" tour of apartheid South Africa by 13 current and former England Test cricketers who were almost all nearing the end of their careers. All the players were banned from international cricket for three years as a result.
As a commentator, Boycott has renewed his renown, with his 'pull-no-punches' style in contrast to the 'let's-try-not-to-offend' style of most of his fellow commentators. In particular he is known for criticizing players. Once, after witnessing a dropped catch, he said "I reckon my mum could have caught that in her pinny", and in 2005 he mocked the Australian captain Ricky Ponting for electing to bowl first on a flat track, saying he was a "nice man" for being so generous to the England team. Another feature of Boycott's commentaries was his pre-match pitch report, in which he would stick a key into the wicket and assess its qualities (moisture and hardness). He would also sometimes bounce a ball on the pitch. However, due to a change in the cricket laws neither action is now permitted.
Cricket commentator Simon Hughes suggests that Boycott is fastidious in the commentary box, always immaculately dressed, and never socialised with the other commentators or production staff.[9]
In 1996, Boycott was accused by Margaret Moore, a former lover, of assault. Boycott denied the charges, claiming she had fallen over and hit herself. He pointed to the fact that Moore was in financial difficulties and said that he would never hit a woman. However, in January 1998, Boycott was convicted before a French Magistrates court and given a three-month suspended sentence,[10] which he appealed against. According to Boycott, Moore had grown angry when he refused to marry her, stating that 'he was not the marrying kind'.[11]
The conviction gravely jeopardized Boycott's commentating career. At the time of the conviction he was working for BSkyB and BBC Radio, commentating on England's tour of the West Indies. He was sacked from both roles.[12][13] He was also sacked from his columnist's job in ''The Sun'', which announced the dismissal in an article on the front page with the headline "Sun Sacks Boycott the Brute",[14] suggesting it was too noble to employ him, although the Sun gave Boycott an undertaking in writing that they would continue to employ him regardless of the result of the court case.[3] A BBC television spokesman said "Geoffrey Boycott is not under contract with the BBC [television] and there are no plans to use him in the future."[16]
Boycott was offered a role by talkSPORT, who chose to back him in spite of his conviction (subsequently upheld on appeal[17][18]). He continued to commentate for the station, along with various satellite and Asian channels, until 2003, when his career was further threatened by throat cancer. Having successfully undergone chemotherapy, Boycott's career enjoyed a renaissance as he returned to high-profile commentating with Channel 4, which had meanwhile taken over from the BBC in televising England's home Test games. In November 2005, Boycott rejoined the BBC's Test Match Special to provide commentary for England's 2005 tour of Pakistan. In January 2006, Boycott joined Asian channel Ten Sports. His opinions, as ever, are strong and sometimes controversial. He delivered the Colin Cowdrey Lecture in 2005, speaking about the need for cricket to adapt to changing circumstances and embrace innovations like Twenty20.
He joined Mark Nicholas and Simon Hughes (from the Channel 4 cricket team) to commentate on highlights of England's home games from 2006-2010 on Five, live coverage having been taken on exclusively by Sky Sports from 2006. Boycott was a member of the BBC Cricket Team for commentary on the 2006/7 Ashes series. His role, as in his other commentary-related work, was to contribute to discussion of the main talking points.
When appearing on television, Boycott is usually well dressed and often wears a Panama hat. During his time as a BBC commentator he would often give his thoughts on the day's play at the end of a highlights programme, either alone or with another commentator such as Ian Chappell or Ravi Shastri.
He supported the United Kingdom Independence Party in the European Parliament election, 2004.[19] Despite his strong Yorkshire background, Boycott is surprisingly a big fan of Manchester United [1].
Boycott has been credited as having a high level of influence in the game, with Yorkshire CCC Chief Executive Stewart Regan crediting Boycott over the completion of a deal for Younis Khan to play county cricket for Yorkshire in the 2007 Season. ''"Without Geoffrey's invaluable assistance we would not have been able to make the deal. It was through his contacts I was able to get in touch with Younis. Geoffrey provided us with a list of players - and the top batsman on the list was Younis Khan. A lot of people will be unaware of the contribution which Geoffrey has made towards securing Younis' services - the other members of the board and myself are extremely grateful to him."'' [2]
He remains the only living cricketer to have an English Pub named after him; in this case, the "Sir" Geoffrey Boycott OBE in Westtown, Dewsbury, a local CAMRA pub of the year in 1996.
★ The greatest over of them all? Holding v Boycott.
★ Cricket Archive Statistics
★ Boycott's hundred in the 1965 Gillette Cup
★ Wisden report on Boycott's hundred in the 1965 Gillette Cup
★ 246
★ v India
★ The Botham run out incident
★ Boycott: The Autobiography, Pan Books ISBN-10: 0330447378 ISBN-13: 978-0330447379
★
1. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1965/ENG_LOCAL/GLTE/KNOCK-OUTS/SURREY_YORKS_GLTE-FINAL_04SEP1965.html
2. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1965/ENG_LOCAL/GLTE/SOMERSET_YORKS_GLTE_23JUN1965.html
3. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76472.html
4. President's XI v England XI at Bridgetown, 23-26 Jan 1974
5. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/engine/match/63193.html
6. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/current/story/307164.html
7. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152109.html
8. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1970S/1978-79/ENG_IN_AUS/ENG_SOA_22-24DEC1978.html
9. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76547.html
10. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76470.html
11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/49075.stm
12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/51608.stm
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/51237.stm
14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/211959.stm
15. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76472.html
16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/211569.stm
17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/211569.stm
18. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76471.html
19. Q&A: UK Independence Party
★ Profile of Geoffrey Boycott and the Five Cricket Team
'Geoffrey Boycott' OBE (born October 21 1940) is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In an illustrious, but sometimes controversial career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's finest opening batsmen. He followed up his playing career by becoming an often outspoken cricket commentator on both radio and television. He was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1965.
| Contents |
| County career |
| Test Match career |
| As commentator |
| Sources |
| References |
| External links |
County career
Boycott was born in the mining village of Fitzwilliam in Yorkshire and began playing for his home county in 1962 after impressing in league cricket. He won his Yorkshire Cap in 1963 and was the Cricket Writers' Club Young Cricketer of the Year in 1963. His batting was based on a watertight defensive technique, with his favourite scoring shots being the on drive and forcing through the covers off the back foot. His grindingly effective style, honed through endless hours of obsessive net practice, gained him a reputation for being dour, perhaps reflecting his dogged personality.
Though he became renowned for his ability to occupy the crease for hours he was capable of attacking play when the spirit moved him. His highest one day score was a swashbuckling match-winning 146 for Yorkshire in the 1965 Gillette Cup final against Surrey.[1] In his previous Gillette Cup match, the quarter final against Somerset, Boycott had taken 32 overs to accumulate 23[2] and so at Lord's, after Yorkshire had plodded to 22 for 1, captain Brian Close promoted himself to number 3 to urge Boycott into action. "I joined Geoffrey in the middle and said to him: "Listen, if I call, you bloody well run." Boycott and Ray Illingworth, who also played in the match, however said that the point of Close's promotion was that Close was a left-handed batsman who would be able to play the Somerset left-arm spinner David Sydenham with more ease than his right-handed team-mates. Indeed, Boycott claimed this plan had been agreed on a fortnight previously.
Brian Close wrote in his autobiography, ''I Don't Bruise Easily'', about how he told Boycott to "start looking for ones" and "put some force into your shots" and then, after he stroked a boundary, said "Bloody marvellous. Now hit everything." He did, making 146 with 15 fours and three sixes. One of these shots, a lofted straight drive off England paceman Geoff Arnold was nearly caught by Boycott's team mates on the players' balcony. This was all the more remarkable given the fact that modern-day fielding restrictions did not apply in 1965. Close and Boycott added 194 for the second wicket as Yorkshire posed a then record 317. Boycott disputes Close's account of his chanceless innings however. "At no time did Close tell me to get on with it or anything remotely similar. Those who believe otherwise are mistaken." Whatever the circumstances of its inception, John Woodcock wrote in The Times that "His magnificent innings contained every stroke in the book." 17 years later, in 1982, Boycott and Graham Stevenson added a record 149 for Yorkshire's tenth wicket against Warwickshire; Stevenson smashing 115.
In 414 matches for Yorkshire he scored 32,570 runs at 57.85 with a best score of 260
★ against Essex and 103 centuries in all. He scored another 8,699 runs in List A one day cricket at 40.08. He twice averaged over 100 for an English first class season, 100.12 in 1971 and 102.53 in 1979 and remains the only player to have achieved this rare feat twice.
He was made captain of Yorkshire in 1971 but was sacked in controversial circumstances in 1978 after failing to win a trophy while in charge. There was more strife when he was dismissed and then reinstated as a player after a grassroots members revolt. He was known to be a divisive figure in the club, with strong emotions on both sides. He clashed with other strong personalities at the club during his career, including Fred Trueman, Brian Close and Ray Illingworth but remained hugely popular with the Yorkshire crowds.
Test Match career
Boycott began his Test career only two years after his first class debut, in the first Test of the summer against Australia. Over the next 18 years he scored 8,114 runs in 108 Test matches for England. He was the first England cricketer to pass 8,000 Test runs and is still fourth on England's all-time run scoring list (behind Graham Gooch, Alec Stewart and David Gower). His average of 47.73 runs over 193 innings is second only to Kevin Pietersen among England players since 1970. His Test career included 22 centuries (an England record that he holds jointly with Wally Hammond and Colin Cowdrey).
Boycott was always a controversial figure. His highest Test score was 246 not out against India in June 1967 on his home ground of Headingley, but he was dropped for the next match for slow scoring (even though England won comfortably by six wickets). He had come into the test in wretched form, scoring just 124 runs in his previous nine innings including his only pair in county cricket, and fought grimly to restore his touch through his 10 hour innings. While out of the team for the second test he amassed 584 runs for Yorkshire in four innings for just once out and was soon reinstated to the Test team.
He spent three years from 1974-77 in self-imposed exile from the England team. He claimed he had simply lost his appetite for Test cricket , but the move may also have been linked to the appointments of Mike Denness and then Tony Greig as England Captain in preference to him. Boycott was very critical of both Denness' captaincy and standard of batting in his autobiography. This period of "exile" arguably enabled him to avoid fast-bowlers Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Andy Roberts, and Michael Holding at their peaks, although he came back to face the West Indies pace battery at its most fearsome in the late 70s and early 80s.
In his autobiography and an interview, Boycott has responded to these accusations by pointing out that Lillee had been out of cricket for 21 months suffering from a serious back complaint and that Thomson had not played in Tests for 23 months prior to the 1974-75 Ashes series since an unsuccessful debut Test against Pakistan (Thomson's match figures were 0-110).[3] In Barbados in January 1974, playing for the touring England XI, he scored a career-best 261 not out against a West Indies Board President's XI including Andy Roberts and a young Michael Holding.[4]
England did not lose a test match in which he scored a century and only 20 of his 108 Tests ended in defeat, mainly when he failed to blunt the new ball attack. He won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for his Test Match century in 222 balls for England against the Rest of the World at The Oval in 1970. The Trophy was presented for the most meritorious innings of the series as opposed to the fastest century that year. Surprisingly, for a man with such a run hungry reputation, only 3 of his Test tons passed 150. He was dismissed for 99 in the first innings against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1973-74 and scored 112 in the second. Holding did master him on occasion, bowling him for a duck at Bridgetown in March 1981 with the final ball of perhaps the most fearsome first over in test history.
In his "comeback" Test against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1977 he famously ran out Derek Randall in front of his home crowd before going to make a century. In this match, in which Ian Botham made his England debut, he confirmed his ability to occupy the crease by batting on each of the five days of the match: his first innings 107 started at the end of the first day, he batted throughout the second day and was dismissed on the third day; he started his second innings at the end of day four and batted throughout England's successful run chase scoring 80 not out. Among England batsmen, only Allan Lamb and Andrew Flintoff have emulated this feat of batting on all five days. On 11/12 August 1977 he scored 191 against Australia in the fourth Test in front of an adoring full house at his home ground of Leeds, becoming the first cricketer to score his one hundredth first class century in a Test match and the fourth English player to be on the field for the entire duration of a Test Match [5]. Boycott reached the milestone with a characteristic punched on drive from the bowling of Greg Chappell through mid-on for four [6]. Thereupon followed a pitch invasion, during which Boycott's cap was temporarily taken by a souvenir hunter [7].
Appointed vice-captain for the ensuing tour of Pakistan and New Zealand that winter, Boycott took over as captain in 1978 for two Tests when Mike Brearley was injured. In one match, the rest of the team in the pavilion decided that Boycott was scoring so slowly that he was in danger of costing England the match; Botham ran him out, later claiming in his autobiography that he had done it deliberately. Indeed, some have suggested that this was a team order.. Boycott disputes the suggestion that the run-out was deliberate in his autobiography, referring to the story as "a tale which becomes more fanciful with every telling".
During the 1978-79 Ashes series, Boycott unusually went in at No. 11 in the second innings of a match against state side South Australia (not due to injury).[8]
A graph of Geoff Boycott's career performances.
Against Australia at Perth in 1979-80, he became the first man to be marooned on 99 not out in a Test when he ran out of partners. He was the first batsman to receive a ball in a one day international and his was the first wicket to fall. Boycott was also a medium-pace inswing bowler, often bowling while wearing his cap turned back-to-front in jaunty fashion. He was never a genuine all-rounder but took seven wickets at Test level at an average of 54.57.
The "controversial" tag for Boycott comes from many incidents spread over his playing career, but two in particular stand out. During an England tour of India he claimed that he was too ill to field in a Test Match, but it was later discovered that he was playing golf while his teammates were still out on the field; this led to being dropped from the side. He claimed in his autobiography that he went to the golf course following medical advice to get fresh air.
Such was his longevity in the game that he had 16 opening partners for England - Dennis Amiss (19 innings), Bob Barber (26), Ken Barrington (1), Mike Brearley (21), Alan Butcher (2), Colin Cowdrey (2), John Edrich (35), Graham Gooch (49), Wayne Larkins (2), Brian Luckhurst (12), Colin Milburn (6), John Murray (2), Derek Randall (3), Brian Rose (6), Eric Russell (3) and Fred Titmus (2).
In 1982 he was instrumental in organizing, in defiance of a United Nations and TCCB ban, a so-called "rebel" tour of apartheid South Africa by 13 current and former England Test cricketers who were almost all nearing the end of their careers. All the players were banned from international cricket for three years as a result.
As commentator
As a commentator, Boycott has renewed his renown, with his 'pull-no-punches' style in contrast to the 'let's-try-not-to-offend' style of most of his fellow commentators. In particular he is known for criticizing players. Once, after witnessing a dropped catch, he said "I reckon my mum could have caught that in her pinny", and in 2005 he mocked the Australian captain Ricky Ponting for electing to bowl first on a flat track, saying he was a "nice man" for being so generous to the England team. Another feature of Boycott's commentaries was his pre-match pitch report, in which he would stick a key into the wicket and assess its qualities (moisture and hardness). He would also sometimes bounce a ball on the pitch. However, due to a change in the cricket laws neither action is now permitted.
Cricket commentator Simon Hughes suggests that Boycott is fastidious in the commentary box, always immaculately dressed, and never socialised with the other commentators or production staff.[9]
In 1996, Boycott was accused by Margaret Moore, a former lover, of assault. Boycott denied the charges, claiming she had fallen over and hit herself. He pointed to the fact that Moore was in financial difficulties and said that he would never hit a woman. However, in January 1998, Boycott was convicted before a French Magistrates court and given a three-month suspended sentence,[10] which he appealed against. According to Boycott, Moore had grown angry when he refused to marry her, stating that 'he was not the marrying kind'.[11]
The conviction gravely jeopardized Boycott's commentating career. At the time of the conviction he was working for BSkyB and BBC Radio, commentating on England's tour of the West Indies. He was sacked from both roles.[12][13] He was also sacked from his columnist's job in ''The Sun'', which announced the dismissal in an article on the front page with the headline "Sun Sacks Boycott the Brute",[14] suggesting it was too noble to employ him, although the Sun gave Boycott an undertaking in writing that they would continue to employ him regardless of the result of the court case.[3] A BBC television spokesman said "Geoffrey Boycott is not under contract with the BBC [television] and there are no plans to use him in the future."[16]
Boycott was offered a role by talkSPORT, who chose to back him in spite of his conviction (subsequently upheld on appeal[17][18]). He continued to commentate for the station, along with various satellite and Asian channels, until 2003, when his career was further threatened by throat cancer. Having successfully undergone chemotherapy, Boycott's career enjoyed a renaissance as he returned to high-profile commentating with Channel 4, which had meanwhile taken over from the BBC in televising England's home Test games. In November 2005, Boycott rejoined the BBC's Test Match Special to provide commentary for England's 2005 tour of Pakistan. In January 2006, Boycott joined Asian channel Ten Sports. His opinions, as ever, are strong and sometimes controversial. He delivered the Colin Cowdrey Lecture in 2005, speaking about the need for cricket to adapt to changing circumstances and embrace innovations like Twenty20.
He joined Mark Nicholas and Simon Hughes (from the Channel 4 cricket team) to commentate on highlights of England's home games from 2006-2010 on Five, live coverage having been taken on exclusively by Sky Sports from 2006. Boycott was a member of the BBC Cricket Team for commentary on the 2006/7 Ashes series. His role, as in his other commentary-related work, was to contribute to discussion of the main talking points.
When appearing on television, Boycott is usually well dressed and often wears a Panama hat. During his time as a BBC commentator he would often give his thoughts on the day's play at the end of a highlights programme, either alone or with another commentator such as Ian Chappell or Ravi Shastri.
He supported the United Kingdom Independence Party in the European Parliament election, 2004.[19] Despite his strong Yorkshire background, Boycott is surprisingly a big fan of Manchester United [1].
Boycott has been credited as having a high level of influence in the game, with Yorkshire CCC Chief Executive Stewart Regan crediting Boycott over the completion of a deal for Younis Khan to play county cricket for Yorkshire in the 2007 Season. ''"Without Geoffrey's invaluable assistance we would not have been able to make the deal. It was through his contacts I was able to get in touch with Younis. Geoffrey provided us with a list of players - and the top batsman on the list was Younis Khan. A lot of people will be unaware of the contribution which Geoffrey has made towards securing Younis' services - the other members of the board and myself are extremely grateful to him."'' [2]
He remains the only living cricketer to have an English Pub named after him; in this case, the "Sir" Geoffrey Boycott OBE in Westtown, Dewsbury, a local CAMRA pub of the year in 1996.
Sources
★ The greatest over of them all? Holding v Boycott.
★ Cricket Archive Statistics
★ Boycott's hundred in the 1965 Gillette Cup
★ Wisden report on Boycott's hundred in the 1965 Gillette Cup
★ 246
★ v India
★ The Botham run out incident
★ Boycott: The Autobiography, Pan Books ISBN-10: 0330447378 ISBN-13: 978-0330447379
★
References
1. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1965/ENG_LOCAL/GLTE/KNOCK-OUTS/SURREY_YORKS_GLTE-FINAL_04SEP1965.html
2. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1960S/1965/ENG_LOCAL/GLTE/SOMERSET_YORKS_GLTE_23JUN1965.html
3. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76472.html
4. President's XI v England XI at Bridgetown, 23-26 Jan 1974
5. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/engine/match/63193.html
6. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/columns/content/current/story/307164.html
7. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/wisdenalmanack/content/story/152109.html
8. http://uk.cricinfo.com/db/ARCHIVE/1970S/1978-79/ENG_IN_AUS/ENG_SOA_22-24DEC1978.html
9. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76547.html
10. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76470.html
11. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/49075.stm
12. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/51608.stm
13. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/sport/51237.stm
14. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/211959.stm
15. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76472.html
16. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/211569.stm
17. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/211569.stm
18. http://content-uk.cricinfo.com/ci/content/story/76471.html
19. Q&A: UK Independence Party
External links
★ Profile of Geoffrey Boycott and the Five Cricket Team
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