'He cocked up with his tactics' - Geoffrey Boycott slams Joe Root over strange captaincy against India in second Test

Former cricketer-turned-commentator Geoffrey Boycott bashed England after they went down 1-0 in the five-match series against India, losing the Lord’s Test by a whopping 152 runs. The 80-year-old called out England for their over-reliance on Joe Root, and Root for his strange tactics.

On the final day of the second Test, Root kept the fielders spread out, allowing both Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami chances to score runs easily after England had managed to take two early wickets courtesy of Ollie Robinson, who got Rishabh Pant caught behind for 22, before pinning Ishant Sharma lbw for 16.

An 89-run ninth-wicket partnership between Shami and Bumrah, who scored 56 and 34, respectively, meant that India managed to post a massive 272-run target for the hosts in 60 overs. Later, England suffered a collapse, as they were tumbled out for 120, losing the game by a considerable margin.

As much as we love Joe Root for his magnificent batting, he cocked up with his tactics: Geoffrey Boycott

“This Test match has proved 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. 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,” Geoffrey Boycott stated in his column for The Telegraph.

Boycott further questioned England’s decision to launch a short ball barrage against Jasprit Bumrah, who meted out similar treatment to James Anderson towards the end of Day 3. However, unlike then, the match situation on the fifth day was far more different, with India adding runs quickly and taking the game away.

“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. Heated words were exchanged as England seemed more intent on hitting Bumrah and Mohammad Shami instead of getting them out,” Geoffrey Boycott said.