Boycott answered, his critics with his bat

Press, 19 February 1988, Page 20

Boycott answered, his critics with his bat

By

GARY BIRKETT

Geoff Boycott was once likened by an English cricket writer to a dog adopted on Christmas Eve from the Battersea Dog’s Home.

The writer mused that it was as if Boycott had been maltreated as a puppy, desperately wanting to be loved, but trusting no one until he got to know them really well, reacting irrationally even to those who meant him well, and never getting over the feeling that the whole world was against him.

The writer summed Boycott up as a lonely perfectionist, unloved but grudgingly admired by those who knew him; adored by thousands who did not.

Boycott is undoubtedly a complicated character. But his reputation of being an abrasive recluse is one he is quick to refute. The Yorkshireman, aged 47, has scored more runs for England than any other player. Those 8114 runs from 108 matches, plus the 151 first class centuries he totted up, give him plenty of ammunition to shoot back at his critics, not forgetting the 32,750 he scored for Yorkshire at an average of 57.85.

“People either love me or hate me,” he said in an interview recently at his Christchurch hotel. “I came to terms with that a long time ago otherwise I would have gone potty trying to please everybody. People may criticise what I have done but at the end of it my supporters can turn around and say: Aye, but could he bat? After all that is what it comes down to.”

Boycott is currently promoting his autobiography in New Zealand. The book has sold over 50,000 hard-back copies in the United Kingdom, surprising even the great man himself.

After retiring from county cricket in 1986 he

spent five months in Florida with a friend, Terry Brindle, writing the text.

A perfectionist on the cricket field, he was also a perfectionist as a researcher and writer, spending eight hours a day working on the draft.

“So many people were waiting for me to slip up. I worked damned hard to make sure I didn’t give them anything. The book is accurate, honest and truthful and nobody has challenged anything I said,” said Boycott with a satisfied grin.

Boycott kept notes and made tapes during his career, especially at the times of the more controversial incidents he was involved in. “All the information is accurate, I didn’t have to make up or dream anything because I had it all there.”

Boycott never shirked a challenge during his career, which spanned more than 25 years, and he did not gloss over the tender issues.

“People have come to expect that I will be frank and I did not shirk the issues. That would be like cheating the public. I have had great support from the public — it has been the committee men who have been the bane of my life.” Boycott agrees that he is cut from a different cloth than most cricketers but blames the media for some of the “myths” surrounding him. “The media has promulgated a lot of myths about me. I think they mistook single mindedness for selfishness. People look at a player like Bradman and say he was a genius, but at the time he played some criticised him for being selfish and obsessed.”

Boycott is a private man and refused to let the media encroach on his family life. He counts many friends in the game and is not a loner.

“The press don’t know

me because I did not allow them to get close. They see me as good copy, but the only time I was under scrutiny was on the field. They might pass me in a hotel corridor and say hello but that is not knowing me. They have never been in my private company and that is the only way you can get to know someone.”

Controversy has dogged Boycott since he first burst onto the county scene, but he shrugs his shoulders and laughs about it now. He never felt like giving up cricket, his love of the game overriding any resentment he felt toward those who abused him.

“I love cricket and felt I was born to bat. I wanted to find out how far I could stretch myself. When I got up in the morning I wanted to play cricket, even at 40. I was lucky that I was good at my job and lucky I enjoyed it.” Boycott is rated by the world’s best bowlers as one of the hardest batsmen to dislodge. The noted cricket broadcaster and critic, John Arlott, once described his technique as close to perfection and Boycott is proud to be the subject of such high praise. “My technique was a gift but there are many people who have a gift and don’t work at it. People say if only so-and-so had worked harder ...

how many times have you heard that?”

The former England captain could never be accused of missing net practice. His devotion to training is legendary and perhaps summed up by a humorous story which does the rounds at English cricket ■grounds. It is said that if the world was about to end that half the men in England would go home

to make love to their wives, the other half would make love to somebody else’s wife, and that Boycott would go to the nets for a bat. Boycott was never a great socialiser and that trait had led people to brand him as arrogant. He is adamant that is not the case. “After concentrating all day during a game my head has had enough. Some players relax by having a pint and chatting, but I found that if I went to the bar my mind would be racing afterwards and I couldn’t sleep. I have never smoked or drunk and I never will. It is the old herd mentality ... people like to feel comfortable in a group and if someone is not there they start to criticise. People like round pegs in round holes but we’re not all round pegs.” He is an admirer of many cricketers including one totally different in attitude and style — lan Botham. “He was one of the greatest players I have ever played alongside and I am glad I was around to see the explosions and enjoy the sheer entertainment value of the guy. Botham is my sort of cricketer.” Ironic words from Boycott, who was dropped in 1967 by England after scoring 246 in the first test aginst India in nine and a half hours, too slow for the press and the selectors. Boycott delves into such incidents in his book and also deals in depth with such hot topics as the Yorkshire committee’s moves to remove him, the rebel tour of South Africa and his self imposd test exile from 1974 to 1977. The greatest moment of his career was the scoring of his 100th first class century. It came at Headingly, Leeds, for England against Australia in 1977. Boycott describes the

moment in his book. “Somehow I was destined to get a century that day. It was my karma. It must have been written by someone, somehwere before I went into bat. I may have played better and more importantly, but this was the most magical moment in my life. I can’t remember who said what when the crowd flooded onto the pitch; it was like knowing the weather was hot not without being aware of the temperature, it was just noise. And I was conscious I was sharing something with the people of Yorkshire. My people, right or wrong, good or bad, the source of immense inspiration.” That extract provides a rare insight into Boycott. He is obviously proud of his background and even prouder of his achievements in cricket. It is a pity that he might be remembered only as a dour opening bat dedicated to personal goals, rather than providing entertainment for others, a description that upsets Boycott, -who believes he has contributed a lot to the game. “People have always liked seeing characters — it excites the imagination. They make damned sure that they will go and watch Lillee bowling at Boycott or Hadlee bowling at Richards. It is a confrontation of great players and that is always special.” Boycott is rich enough not to have to work again, but writes a regular column for the “Daily Mail” and is interested in doing television and radio work if the chance arises. He feels he deserves the rewards after working hard all his life. “I have worked damned hard and I tell young players that they should do the same. If they succeed the money will follow — if they want it too easy I try to teach them the right way to approach the game.”