Geoffrey Boycott is at it again. After years of incendiary comments against Bangladesh, last week’s 335-run thrashing by Zimbabwe only added fuel to his fire against the Tigers.
On Cricinfo’s Bowl at Boycs podcast on Wednesday, he was asked: “(You) have been critical of Bangladesh's performances in Test cricket while admitting they do all right at home and in ODIs. Why is it that they are yet to develop into a decent Test team, having been on the Test circuit for 13 years now?"
It was a full toss too easy to pass up on and he replied: “You are right to be worried, because they are poor. In my opinion, the ICC have wasted far too much money on Bangladesh. They've got far more money than any other country, loads more. For the money given to Bangladesh, the return has to be really poor."
He went on to say: “I just think the whole administration and coaching structure has not been good enough. They've had easy money, lots of easy money from the ICC.”
The dour former English opener laced into cricket administration in Bangladesh while also highlighting the preparation of pitches as being one of the prime reasons behind the country’s erratic form in Test cricket.
“The pitches they play on in Bangladesh are slow, low, spinning surfaces. There are very few world Test match venues that are like that. Alter the pitches, fly in different soil, get some Australian soil or something where it bounces,” he said as he offered a seemingly western-centric approach to the issue.
Boycott’s ire was also directed towards the ICC. “It's too much easy money. As soon as the ICC stop giving them money, maybe they'll do something about it. Maybe they need a jolt, a sharp jolt. And the ICC, if the gifts they give to Bangladesh were relative to the win-and-loss performances of the national team, that will be a real shock wake-up, wouldn't it?”
While Mr. Boycott could not immediately be reached for a comment to clear up what he meant by the “gifts they (ICC) give Bangladesh,” this is hardly the first time he has voiced his dissatisfaction with Bangladesh.
In the fifth annual MCC Spirit of Cricket Cowdrey Lecture in 2005, he spoke of Bangladesh in equally glowing terms, calling them an “embarrassment to test cricket.”
Living up to his reputation as a straight talkerh, e went on to add insult to injury by saying, “My mum would have scored runs and taken wickets against the Bangladeshis. She’d have wanted to bat and bowl at both ends!”
Mr. Boycott’s words have not always fallen on deaf ears. During the 2010 tour of England, Bangladesh opener Tamim Iqbal found himself fired up by what he felt were derogatory comments from the Englishman.
After Bangladesh found themselves on the verge of following on by the close of the third day of the first Test at Lords, the TV pundit Boycott let loose his views on Bangladesh cricket.
Tamim Iqbal replied the next day with a blistering 103 of 100 balls and in the post-match press conference said: “I was watching television last night when I saw him commenting that Bangladesh should not play Test cricket. I felt very bad and could not sleep until 1am. It made me determined to do something to show him in the field. They are the senior cricketers whom we respect. We expect them to respect us as well. We are a developing team and we really deserve some support from a person like Mr Boycott."
Now similar comments have been made once more. Can Bangladesh respond on the field again?
