Former England captain Geoff Boycott was never one to mince his words and the Yorkshireman was in a grumpy mood, to say the least, after England lost the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney to end the series winless. Australia won the five-match series 4-0 to regain the Ashes urn.
Boycott, who is in Australia as a commentator for United Kingdom broadcaster BT Sport, was in a panel of former cricketers reviewing the series on air after Australia won the Sydney Test on Monday. England fast bowler James Anderson was being interviewed by the panel and when it was Boycott’s turn to ask a question, he let loose.
The 77-year-old questioned Anderson about England assistant coach Paul Farbrace’s comments regarding the planning for the next Ashes series in Australia in four years’ time. “If England are serious about coming back here and winning in four years’ time, the planning needs to start in the next couple of days,” Farbrace had said, as reported by The Guardian.
Boycott was not convinced with Farbrace’s comments and decided to grill Anderson about it. Another former England captain, Michael Vaughan, and host Matt Smith tried to come to Anderson’s rescue but Boycott was in no mood to relent. You can watch the awkward interview here:
Anderson said Australia played the pressure moments better than the battle-weary tourists and deserved their crushing 4-0 series triumph. Steve Smith’s Australians swept to an innings victory in the Sydney Test, condemning England to four comprehensive defeats in the five-match series.
The Ashes were relinquished by the third Test in Perth and England gave the impression by the final day of the series that they just wanted it all to end. Vice-captain Anderson, deputising for stricken skipper Joe Root, said the writing had been on the wall for some time.
You can watch the entire Anderson interview here:
Can you ever imagine Indian cricketers being grilled in a similar fashion?
With inputs from AFP