The former England opener spoke to PakPassion about the Kevin Pietersen saga, South Africa, England's upcoming tour of India, the Pakistan-Australia series in the UAE and teams to watch out for in the T20 World Cup.

By Saj Sadiq (27th August, 2012)

PakPassion is delighted to present another interview with the former Yorkshire and England batsman GeoffBoycott.

The veteran of 108 Test matches who made over 8,000 Test match runs and is a hugely popular commentator with BBC's Test Match Special gives PakPassion his no holds barred thoughts on Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Strauss, the South African cricket team, Pakistan versus Australia, the Twenty20 World Cup and much more.

 

PakPassion.net : Geoff, a pleasure to interview you once again.

Geoff Boycott : No problem.

PakPassion.net : What are your thoughts on the Kevin Pieterson issue and can the problems be rectified in future?

Geoff Boycott : With difficulty! Once you start disrespecting the captain outside of the dressing room then trust breaks down. Obviously they will try and mend it. Everybody likes Pietersen’s talent and his wonderful batting but you have to separate his talent, his ability from the team situation. There’s a bigger issue here than how many runs Pietersen scores or how good a player he is. If he was a lesser player they would have probably sacked him straight away. 

If you were texting people and slating off your boss, being hyper critical and, if it’s to be believed that Pietersen said things which were very uncomplimentary then most people in a normal job would get the sack. They would be told there is no trust, they are disrespecting the boss, you have to go. 

In an environment such as a cricket team you spend so many hours together, 5 days at a Test match, 8 or 9 hours a day playing and practicing, it’s very difficult unless you are all pulling together. I was always taught if you have anything to say speak up in the dressing room when we have team meetings, say your piece in front of the team and the captain, have a discussion and throw everything into the ring. Once it’s discussed the captain will decide what you are going to do, maybe the captain takes on board your ideas and criticism but once the captain decides whether he takes on your views or not you have to follow him. That’s it, that’s the way it runs, you have to support and follow him.

Also whatever goes on in the dressing room should be kept strictly in the dressing room. If Pietersen was a Manchester United footballer, Sir Alex Ferguson would have sacked him in two seconds. If you remember Ferguson sacked Jaap Stam after he made comments in his autobiography, next minute he was sold to Lazio.

You have to support the team, the leader, everyone. You have to buy into that team ethos. All the players don’t have to be your best friends and on a night you can do what you want, be with your friends or family but once you are with the team you have to support each other outside of the dressing room. In this instance that has gone out of the window and what’s made it worse and almost irretrievable is Pietersen has “done it” to the opposition. Have a drink with the opposition, there’s nothing wrong with that - there’s always been good camaraderie in cricket - but, you do not let things out which would hurt the team or any individual within the team.

Whether Pietersen is a good batsman or not is totally irrelevant in this matter. The ECB and Andrew Strauss have every right to be upset about this matter and I feel that Pietersen has let Strauss and the ECB down and this issue will not go away easily and Pietersen’s participation on the tour of India later this year is hanging in the balance.

PakPassion.net : South Africa have just defeated England two nil in the Test series. That is Andrew Strauss’ sixth Test defeat as captain in the last few series. Where does this defeat leave Andrew Strauss’ tenure as captain of the Test team?

Geoff Boycott : Strauss has to look at his batting and start making runs. He’s a lovely man and everybody wants him to be captain and the players want to play for him, but at the end of the day you have to perform. You cannot keep losing matches and play as if you are playing with ten men on your side. He’s not playing well and has to make some runs. It’s hard to play with ten men when you are winning but when you are losing, sorry, that won’t make it.

Winning generals receive a lot of praise and Strauss has had a lot of praise when England were doing well. They have won two Ashes series but remember losing generals get sacked. I’m sure the last couple of weeks have not been thrilling for Strauss and even before the final Test match of the series against South Africa he did not bat very well. We all want Strauss to play and do well, but he has to go away and sit down and reassess his batting.

PakPassion.net : England face a tough tour of India this winter, how do you see that tour going?

Geoff Boycott : I expect Strauss to lead England in India but they have to go out to India and play well on slow and turning pitches which they have not been doing recently. The first Test in Sri Lanka is an example, the second Test in Sri Lanka, Pietersen got them out of a hole and then we lost three Test matches against Pakistan. It’s a tough ask and makes it even more important for Strauss to make runs.

PakPassion.net : The South Africans have surprised quite a few experts with their performances in England and the fact that they won the Test series two nil. How highly do you rate Graeme Smith's team?

Geoff Boycott : I’m not surprised at all. I’ve followed this South African team very closely as I spend quite a lot of time in South Africa and I know they are a very good side. For me Jacques Kallis is the best cricketer in the last twenty years, he’s a fantastic cricketer. Amla is a wonderful batsman, he always looked a good player but he looked a little “free”, maybe not quite so tight but now he looks a fantastic player when you watch him bat, particularly his footwork, his balance and his range of shots.

The captain Smith has been a very good player for a long time now and A B DeVilliers what a player he is! Boucher’s sad and unfortunate injury actually strengthened the South African team as it allowed A B DeVilliers to take over the gloves and then J P Duminy could be brought in to the line up and he is a better batsman than Boucher. DeVilliers as wicketkeeper did not hurt the South Africans as he did not make too many mistakes behind the stumps.

The South African seam bowling has always been strong. Morne Morkel reminds me of Curtly Ambrose and Joel Garner, tall and he gets extra bounce. It’s very difficult to get forward to him and the ball is rearing at you all of the time. Steyn is quite rightly the number one bowler in the world and he reminds me of Richard Hadlee, he’s very sharp, swings it away and brings the ball back and this lad Philander, where the hell has he been all of his life? He’s taken to Test cricket as if he was born into it. He gets wickets for next to no runs, he gets wickets faster than anyone in history. That may not carry on but at the moment he’s getting wickets at the blink of an eye and he can bat as he made over 90 runs at Lords which was priceless.

The South African weakest link is the spinner, Imran Tahir. I’d like to bat against him now and I’m seventy one years old. 

PakPassion.net : The Test rankings show South Africa as the number one ranked team at the moment, do you think they deserve that accolade and do you think they are head and shoulders above the rest of the cricketing world in Test cricket?

Geoff Boycott : I think without a shadow of a doubt they are the best side in the world but I don’t think they are well clear of the chasing pack. They are a great fielding side, they take their catches, Kallis is a brilliant catcher and they have other excellent catchers too like Petersen and Rudolph. They are a very good all round side, besides the three seamers I mentioned earlier they have Jacques Kallis to back up the seamers. The South Africans are a top side and somebody is going to have to play really well against them and maybe South Africa will have to go off the boil like England have of late, for them to lose that number one ranking.

PakPassion.net : Pakistan take on Australia very soon in the UAE in three one day internationals followed by three Twenty20 internationals. What are your thoughts on the outcome of that series?

Geoff Boycott : The surfaces in the UAE definitely suit Pakistan because much of the soil for those wickets was brought over from Pakistan. It’s not quite like being at home for Pakistan but it’s similar. The crowds aren’t as big as back home for Pakistan in the UAE but the Pakistanis will feel comfortable especially after defeating England there. Saeed Ajmal who I think is a fabulous bowler could be the difference between the two sides. 

PakPassion.net : What are your opinions on the Australian side which is going through some transition. They seem to be finding some good pace bowlers at the moment?

Geoff Boycott : It goes around doesn’t it. You cannot be top of the world forever. Look at the West Indies and their team with four quick bowlers and all of those great batsmen and how they have faded away. Likewise Australia faded away, England came to the fore and now South Africa. It doesn’t stay the same, life changes.

I think the Australians have a fine array of seam bowlers but one of the problems seems to be keeping them fit. The young bowlers that they have found seem to be going down injured on a regular basis. The former great manager of Nottingham Forest and a friend of mine Brian Clough said “you are no use to anybody or yourself if you cannot get on the park and spend most of your time on the treatment table.” Clough also said “if you were a racehorse we’d shoot you.” You have to get fit and get on the park. The biggest problem for the Australians is getting their seam bowlers fit. They have some very good seam bowlers but if they are not fit, they are no use.

The Australian batting is not great, there are too many question marks against two or three players in their Test line up.

PakPassion.net : September sees the Twenty20 World Cup being played in Sri Lanka. I know you are not the biggest fan of twenty over cricket but..... 

Geoff Boycott : No, no, hang on! I like Twenty20 cricket. It’s not the real thing and doesn’t test your character or your courage like Test cricket does. Twenty over cricket tests some of a players skills but I don’t think it tests quite as much skill as Test cricket but it does have a skill factor.

PakPassion.net : Who do you think are the teams to watch out for at the Twenty20 World Cup?

Geoff Boycott : Spin will play a big factor in Sri Lanka and the teams who bat well on slow pitches will be the ones to beat, which does not augur well for England. Pakistan should do well at the World Cup as should India and the hosts, although the Sri Lankan bowling is not all that special, but the people who are used to playing on slower pitches will have an advantage to start with. But when you are playing Twenty20 cricket it’s hit and giggle, it’s baseball with cricket rules and there is a lot of luck involved. The shorter the format gets, the more difficult it is to pick a winner.

PakPassion.net : Geoff as always many thanks for your time today.

Geoff Boycott : My pleasure.

Discuss!