Geoffrey Boycott

Before he played in first-class cricket, Boycott played for the successful Barnsley Cricket Club, making his debut in 1959 and becoming a regular team member that year alongside Dickie Bird and Michael Parkinson.[30] In one match against Scarborough, Boycott faced a delivery from Bill Foord which he dispatched to the boundary for four. Foord turned to Parkinson and asked: "Christ almighty, what's this lad's name?" Bird remembered his "application, concentration and absolute belief in himself. He had one great gift, mental strength. You can have all the coaching in the world but the most important thing is to be mentally strong."[31] Although Bird later left Boycott out of his choice XI, he would write: "of all the great players I have seen, if I had to pick a batsman to bat for my life, I would go for Geoffrey."[32] He made his Yorkshire Second XI debut on 6 July 1959 against Cumberland at Penrith, scoring five and 15.[33]

Boycott made his Yorkshire first-team debut on 16 June 1962 against the Pakistan touring team.[8] He opened the batting, scoring four in both innings – the first from a boundary off of his first ball in first-class cricket – and taking one catch, but he did not bowl.[34][35] He went on to play his first County Championship match the next day, on 20 June, against Northamptonshire. Batting at number four, he scored six and 21*.[36]

Early in his career, Boycott continued to play in his spectacles,[37] and later switched to contact lenses. He feared his career would have ended had he not used such aids as his eyesight was poor.[38] Boycott's initial appearances for Yorkshire failed to impress, and he was compared unfavourably to his main rival, John Hampshire. When Brian Close took over from Vic Wilson as captain of Yorkshire in 1963 he persuaded the committee to keep Boycott on, and was rewarded when, on 2 June 1963,[39] Boycott scored 145 against Lancashire.[40] His century was also part of a 249-run fourth-wicket partnership which became a Yorkshire record.[41] Boycott cemented his place in the Yorkshire XI in the 1963 season with successive scores of 76, 53, 49 not out and 50, and on 29 August made a century partnership in both innings of a match against Leicestershire with Ken Taylor.[42] Boycott handed in his notice to the Ministry of Pensions that same year.[43] After a brief loss of form he kept his place with scores of 62, 28 and 113 in the following matches.[44] This second century again came against Lancashire, making Boycott the first Yorkshire cricketer to score his first two centuries in a Roses match, as the hotly contested Yorkshire versus Lancashire matches were termed.[45]

Boycott went on to hit his highest score thus far, 165 not out, against Leicestershire, and ended his first full season with 1,446 runs at an average of 46.64, placing him second in the 1963 national batting averages.[46] He was awarded his county cap on 2 October.[47] At the start of the 1964 season Boycott hit 151 against Middlesex, followed by another hundred against Lancashire in May, and then played for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) against the Australian touring side at Lord's, where he scored 63.[48] On 16 May he completed a third consecutive century,[49] and on 31 May he was called up for the First Test against Australia at Trent Bridge.[8] By the end of the 1964 season, Boycott had topped the country's domestic averages with 59.45.[50]

Although he later became renowned for his ability to occupy the crease for hours of defensive play, he was capable of playing attacking cricket.[5] His highest one day score, a match-winning 146, came in the 1965 Gillette Cup final against Surrey.[51] In his previous Gillette Cup match, the quarter-final against Somerset, Boycott took 32 overs to accumulate 23 runs.[52]

According to the captain, Close, at Lord's after Yorkshire had slowly reached 22/1, Close promoted himself to number three in the batting order so that he could urge Boycott into action. "I joined Geoffrey in the middle and said to him: 'Listen, if I call, you bloody well run.' " Boycott later claimed this plan had been agreed on a fortnight previously, and denied such an incident ever occurring.[37]

Boycott subsequently hit 15 fours and three sixes,[37] even though the modern-day fielding restrictions, which facilitate rapid scoring, did not exist in 1965. One shot, a lofted straight drive off England paceman Geoff Arnold was nearly caught by Boycott's teammates on the players' balcony in the pavilion. Close and Boycott added 192 runs for the second wicket, as Yorkshire posted a then-record total of 317.[37] Cricket writer John Woodcock wrote in The Times that "his magnificent innings contained every stroke in the book. "[37]

In the 1966 season Boycott scored two centuries in one match for the first time, against Nottinghamshire on 18 July.[53] Against Leicestershire on 15 June 1968 he carried his bat through an entire Yorkshire innings of 297 all out, remaining unbeaten on 114*. It was the first time he had been unbeaten at the end of an innings. He ended the season top of the national averages for the first time.[54] On 27 July 1970 he scored 260*, his highest first-class score in England, against Essex.[55] At the end of the season, Close was sacked by the club committee in what Boycott called in 1987 "one of the cruellest incidents in the history of sport." Boycott, on tour in Australia, was awarded the captaincy.[56]

Boycott captained Yorkshire for eight seasons from 1971 to 1978, having been appointed following the sacking of Brian Close in 1970. Despite well publicised conflict between the two players, Boycott recorded in 1987 that he regretted Close's removal from the club, and wrote him a letter in admiration for his contributions to Yorkshire.[58] To captain Yorkshire had been one of Boycott's aims since he started county cricket in 1962.[59] Yorkshire's scorer Ted Lester commented later that Boycott "never got the support he deserved from the committee. After the captaincy was decided on a casting vote, the half that didn't want him never wanted him."[60] Some members of the committee wanted to remove him almost immediately.[57] He also caused strife between his fellow players, including a reciprocated dislike for Richard Hutton,[61] with many players leaving the club citing personal differences with Boycott as the reason for their departure.[62]

After his first season as captain he spent the winter of 1971 playing in South Africa for Northern Transvaal.[2] He played only one match, however, scoring 107 and 41.[63]

Boycott's eight seasons of captaincy were among Yorkshire's least successful. The club failed to win any competitions and ranked low in the Championship table, in contrast to their one-time dominance of English cricket.[60] The beginning of the end of his captaincy came after BBC Radio Leeds interviews in which two Yorkshire committee members and former players, Don Brennan and Mel Ryan, said that a change in leadership was needed.[64] Boycott himself did not suffer a loss of form to mirror that of his county; in his first year as captain, he scored 2,503 runs at an average of 100.12, including a century in his first match as captain.[65] His success was cited by Trueman as evidence that his selfish nature was harming Yorkshire.[66]

Boycott headed the national batting averages in 1972 with 72.35, and was second in 1973 with 63.62. In 1973, however, Yorkshire failed to win any of the 8 championship games with Boycott in charge, and Wisden called the season "disturbingly unsuccessful". It led to further calls for Boycott to be stripped of the captaincy. He was also coming into increased conflict with Richard Hutton, Close, and several members of the committee and senior players.[67][68] "Looking back," Boycott wrote in 1987 "I wish I had given up the Yorkshire captaincy at the end of that year."[69]

In 1974 Boycott's form dipped, when he scored only 75 runs in the first innings of the season, other than a non-championship century against Cambridge University. He did, however, score 152* against Worcestershire on 15 May to complete his tour of centuries against every first-class county.[70] Both he and Yorkshire suffered through 1975 and 1976, as did his international career, since he refused to play for England from 1974 until 1977.[71] During the summer of 1978 Boycott broke a finger, so John Hampshire temporarily took over as captain. Boycott returned later in the season, scoring 968 runs at 50.94, but this was second to Hampshire's 1,463 at 54.18. A poll of the dressing room showed that 95% of the players wanted a permanent change in the captaincy.[72] On 27 September 1978 Boycott's mother, to whom he was very close, died of cancer, placing further pressure on him. She was buried on 2 October.[73] On 29 September, the Yorkshire club committee met with Boycott to discuss terminating his captaincy. A statement by the club outlined Yorkshire's intention to retain Boycott as a player while giving the captaincy to Hampshire.[74] Boycott, in response, attacked the Yorkshire club and its decision in an appearance on the BBC's flagship chatshow Parkinson on 7 October, prompting both strong criticism from the club and strong public support for his own position.[57][75]

Boycott, after much thought, continued as a player at Yorkshire, scoring 1,941 runs at 61.70 in 1979, hitting six hundreds to pass Len Hutton's record of 129 first-class centuries.[76] In 1980 he scored his ninth Roses century, equalling Herbert Sutcliffe's record.[77] He also finished the season with an average of over 50.00 for a record eleventh consecutive year, surpassing the achievement of Jack Hobbs.[78] He would experience growing friction with Hutton's son, Yorkshire's Richard, as well as with later Yorkshire captain John Hampshire. In the early 1980s Boycott continued his run of form, although a slow 347-ball knock of 140* incensed captain, Ray Illingworth, and created friction between Boycott and the rest of the Yorkshire Committee. In 1982 Boycott and Graham Stevenson added a record 149 runs for Yorkshire's tenth wicket against Warwickshire, Stevenson scoring 115 of these runs.[79]

On 3 October 1983 the friction between Boycott and the committee culminated in a unanimous decision not to offer Boycott a contract for the next season. This generated much protest from Boycott supporters, who rallied, calling for his reinstatement at a meeting on 9 October in Ossett, Yorkshire. Bill Athey left the club at this time, and while Boycott in his biography maintained that he had no reason to believe that his actions had caused Athey's departure, Athey later stated to biographer Leo McKinstry that "Boycott's attitude and the atmosphere he created had everything to do with my decision to leave Yorkshire." The "Members 84 Group", consisting of strong supporters of Boycott, met regularly to clamour for the batsman's reinstatement.[80] Their leader, Peter Briggs, stated "Geoffrey Boycott is a giant playing among pygmies."[81]

On 21 January 1984 the Yorkshire Club committee, in the face of this rising pressure, agreed to offer Boycott a contract for 1984. Several members of the committee, including Trueman, Billy Sutcliffe and Ronnie Burnet, resigned. Of the replacement members, 17 were from the Members 84 Group, and Boycott himself was elected, leaving him with both a position on the team and on the Yorkshire Club committee.[82] The 1984 season was, however, not the most prolific for Boycott. McKinstry records that he scored slowly in several matches: 60 in 52 overs against Somerset; 53 in 51 overs against Hampshire;[83] 17 in 26 overs against Leicestershire; 77 in 67 overs against Sussex. This was coupled with continued friction between himself and both players and club members.[84] In particular, Boycott's place on both the team and the committee led to feelings of distrust from both – though Boycott denies this – which led to the loss of support from long-term ally Sid Fielden.[85]

His success on the field resumed in 1985, where he scored 1,657 runs at 75.31, second only to Viv Richards in the national averages. He also shared a record opening partnership of 351 with Martyn Moxon. In contrast to the poor relations between Boycott and the senior players, many junior members of the team remember 1985 and 1986 as pleasant times to be around Boycott, who often coached them on their technique.[86] 1986 saw Boycott score 890 runs at 52.35, his season cut short by injuries which were becoming more frequent as he passed the age of 45.[87] This season was the first since 1962 that he had not hit an overall total of 1,000 runs; he finished eight short in his final match, when he was run out for 61. He advised the then captain to enforce the follow-on, and did not bat again. Since 1984, support for Boycott had waned in light of his slow scoring, multiple injuries and the general atmosphere around him. Both Brian Close and Ray Illingworth increasingly advocated his removal to Yorkshire's committee, and on 23 September 1986 it was confirmed that he would not be offered a contract for the following year. A few months later, captain David Bairstow, a long term ally of Boycott whose leadership had Boycott's support, was ruled out of the running for captaincy for the following season, which was instead given to Phil Carrick, of whom Boycott disapproved. Boycott paid tribute to the Reform Group in 1987, describing them as "dedicated Yorkshire members with a heartfelt stake in their club." He suggests that Close and Illingworth feared his popularity.[88] Boycott was offered contracts by other counties, including Derbyshire and Glamorgan, but he never took these offers up, nor played professional cricket again.[89] At the time of his retirement he had scored more first-class runs than any other active player.[90]

Boycott began his Test career on 4 June 1964, only two years after his first-class debut, in the first Test against Australia. He top scored with 48 runs from 118 deliveries before he was bowled by Grahame Corling. The match ended as a rain-affected draw, and Boycott did not bat in the second innings as he had suffered a cracked finger.[93][94] He made 58 at Old Trafford, and then hit 113 at The Oval, his maiden Test century. He finished his first Test series with 291 runs at 48.50.[50]

In the winter of 1964, Boycott was selected for the England team to tour South Africa. After a series of low scores during the warm-up matches, he was more successful in the Test series. His innings included scores of 73 in the opening Test, 76 in the fourth, and 117 in the fifth and final match. He averaged 49.66 in all first-class cricket during the tour, and took five wickets with the ball as England won the Test series 1–0.[95] He made a mixed impression on the other England players, who were impressed by his talent but perplexed by his introverted attitude each time he was dismissed.[96]

England hosted New Zealand and South Africa in 1965. Against New Zealand, Boycott scored 23 and 44 not out in the first Test at Edgbaston and 76 in the second at Lord's, but missed the third Test owing to injury. He returned against South Africa at Lord's, but after scores of 31 and a slow 28 in 105 minutes,[97] the press began to speculate that he might lose his place in the team. In the second Test, Boycott made a duck in the first innings and later took 140 minutes to score 16 runs when England needed to score quickly; Wisden described the latter innings as a "dreadful effort when courage was needed".[98] Subsequently, Boycott was dropped and replaced by Eric Russell.[98] Boycott returned to the team at the end of the season for the tour to Australia. In the 1965-66 Ashes series, illness dogged his performance initially.[99] He then hit a form of "brighter cricket" during the First and Second Tests. Uncharacteristically, he hit a four from his very first delivery at Perth, and put on 98 in 16 overs with Bob Barber in the Second Test. In the Third Test, Boycott and Barber shared an opening partnership of 234 in four hours; Boycott hit 84, his highest score of the series. But in the Fifth Test he monopolised the strike, ran out Bob Barber and took 75 minutes to make 17 runs. His form deserted him again when the MCC went on to tour New Zealand.[100]

In 1966, England faced the West Indies. Boycott was omitted from the first Test, but in the second he shared a partnership of 115 with Tom Graveney. However, he struggled during the series and managed an average of 26.57.[101] It was a disappointing year for Boycott both for England and Yorkshire, and his average for the former fell to 36.60.[102] Furthermore, he had only passed 50 twice in his last 12 first-class innings.[103] The following summer, he rediscovered his form. On 8 and 9 June 1967, he made his highest Test score of 246 not out against India on his home ground of Headingley. Batting for 573 minutes,[104] Boycott struck thirty fours and a six at a strike rate of 44.32.[104] He began his innings slowly, taking six hours over his first 106 runs; he scored 17 in the first hour and 8 in the second. This particularly frustrated the England selectors as the pitch was excellent for batting, and the Indian attack was weakened by injury.[105] Their frustration was exacerbated when Boycott added 140 runs in four hours on the second day.[106] He did not bat in the second innings and England won by six wickets.[104]

Boycott's slow scoring led to increasing media pressure, and owing to his perceived selfish attitude, he was dropped from the team after the match.[103] He remembered in 1987 that "the decision stunned me at the time, though looking back now I see that it had become inevitable. I was mortified with embarrassment and filled with an angry, burning sense of injustice which I can remember clearly and painfully to this day."[107] A combination of low confidence and a throat infection limited Boycott to two further Test appearances, playing once more against India and once against Pakistan, for the rest of the year. He nevertheless again topped the domestic averages with 1260 at 48.46.[108] In 1967, Boycott toured the West Indies with England, where he hit a rich seam of form. He scored 463 runs at 66.14 in a series England won 1–0.[109]

Headingley Cricket Ground, in Leeds, was Boycott's home and favourite ground, the scene of his hundredth first-class century.

Over the next two years, Boycott appeared only intermittently in the Test team. A back injury forced him to miss half of the 1967 season, and an average of 32.40 against the Australians during the 1968 Ashes was unspectacular.[12] Domestically, his injury also limited his contribution; however, he did hit five centuries before he was forced to stop playing in June 1968.[110] Health problems with his spleen and trouble adjusting to wearing contact lenses meant that Boycott missed the tour of Pakistan in 1968/69,[111] but he returned to the team by the summer of 1969, scoring 128 against the West Indies at Old Trafford, and another century at Lord's. However, he lost form in the rest of the season; he scored 12 and 0 in the third Test and averaged only 20.20, with two ducks, in the three Tests against New Zealand.[112]

Boycott was left out of the first three Tests against the World XI in 1970; he played in the fourth and scored 15 and 64, and in the final Test of the summer scored 157. He won the Walter Lawrence Trophy for this century.[2] He was selected for the 1970–71 tour of Australia, and averaged 95.93 over all first-class matches.[113] He scored 173 in the opening first-class game, followed by 124 against Queensland. In the third Test match, having hit good partnerships in the first two, Boycott made 77 and 142 not out.[114] During the second match, Boycott allegedly told Basil D'Oliveira, the latter having just announced that he had worked out the action of Australian spinner Johnny Gleeson, that he had "sorted that out a fortnight ago."

This incident was used as evidence for Boycott's selfish attitude for many years after. His highest score was 142 not out in the second innings of the Fourth Test at Sydney, in a 299-run victory. The Fifth Test was drawn, Boycott making 12 and 76*, and in the Sixth Test he was run out for 58. Boycott initially refused to leave the ground in disbelief, and eventually walked off to jeering from the crowd.[115] He made 119 in the second innings but injured his arm against fast bowler Garth McKenzie in a following one-day match and missed the final Test, when England retained the Ashes. He later maintained that the injury permanently affected his wrist, and that he carried a squash ball in a sock in his pocket, which he could squeeze to keep his wrist strong.[116] He ended the series with 657 Test runs at 93.85.[8]

In 1971, Boycott made his One Day International debut against Australia, the press by then touting him as the best batsman in the world.[8] He was the first batsman to receive a ball in a one-day international and his was the first wicket to fall,[2] after he had scored eight runs from 37 balls.[117] In the summer of 1971 he enjoyed an average of over 100 in domestic cricket,[15] and scored 121 not out against Pakistan at Lord's.[59]

He played only two Tests in 1972 owing to a series of injuries, but rejoined the team in the West Indies under Denness's captaincy. Boycott was dismissed for 99 in the first innings against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1973–74 and scored 112 in the second, having earlier made a career-best first-class score of 261 not out against a West Indies Board President's XI.[118]

Boycott and Denness did not get on well, and at the end of the tour they clashed over Boycott's preference for a one-day match over a three-day game against Bermuda. Boycott recalled in his autobiography that when Denness confronted him on the issue he replied "Get out of here before I do something I'll regret."[119] Boycott had "no confidence in Denness's professional ability and no respect for him as a man and another tour like the previous one to the West Indies was the last thing I wanted."[120]

Between 1974 and 1977, Boycott elected to make himself unavailable for England. He said in 2006 that he had simply lost his appetite for Test cricket and the stress became too much for him.[121] Boycott's biographer, McKinstry, speculates that the self-imposed exile may also have been linked to the appointments of Mike Denness and then Tony Greig to the England captaincy, in preference to Boycott.[122] Boycott was very critical of Denness's captaincy and his standard of batting in his autobiography in 1987, citing it as a factor in his decision, along with the pressures at Yorkshire.[120] His weak immune system was a recurring motivation for not touring the Indian subcontinent. This period of exile coincided with the peaks of several fast bowlers' careers, including Dennis Lillee, Jeff Thomson, Andy Roberts, and Michael Holding. However, he later came back to face the West Indies pace battery at its most fearsome in the late 1970s and early 1980s.

Boycott has responded to these accusations by pointing out that Lillee had been out of cricket for 21 months suffering from a serious back complaint and that Thomson had not played in Tests for 23 months before the 1974–5 Ashes series, since an unsuccessful debut Test against Pakistan (Thomson's match figures were 0–110).[123] Furthermore, he was dismissed for 99 in the first innings against the West Indies at Port-of-Spain in 1973–74 and scored 112 in the second, followed by a career-best 261 not out against a West Indies Board President's XI. All of these teams included Roberts, with a young Holding representing the Board XI.[118]

In the meantime, "When An Old Cricketer Leaves The Crease" was released by Roy Harper in 1975, and again in 1978, dedicated to Boycott and John Snow.[124][125]

In 1987 the BBC aired a drama about the exile years called Our Geoff written by Andrew Nikold with Boycott being played by Patrick Malahide. The play featured a song called "Boycs Will Be Boycs" with the chorus "Boycs will be Boycs at the end of the day, There'll always be a Geoffrey where-ever Yorkshire play". The song is on YouTube www.youtube.com/watch?v=T5JRSfP6_jQ .

Boycott vs New Zealand national cricket team, Basin Reserve, February 1978

Boycott dismissed by Richard Collinge. February 1978, Basin Reserve

When Boycott returned to the Test side against Australia at Trent Bridge in 1977 he ran out Derek Randall in front of his home crowd before going on to make a century. In this match, in which Ian Botham made his England debut, Boycott batted on each of the five days of the match: his first innings 107 started at the end of the first day, he batted throughout the second day and was dismissed on the third day; he started his second innings at the end of day four and batted throughout England's successful run chase scoring 80 not out, scoring the winning runs in partnership with Randall. Among England batsmen, only Allan Lamb, Andrew Flintoff and Rory Burns have emulated this feat of batting on all five days, and all three subsequent to Boycott.[126] He also had a 215-run partnership with Alan Knott.[127] Botham later remarked that "The Aussies, shell-shocked at having to bowl at Boycott for twenty-two and a half hours, capitulated without much of a fight."[6]

On 11 and 12 August 1977, he scored 191 against Australia in the fourth Test in front of a full house at his home ground of Leeds, becoming the first cricketer to score his one hundredth first-class century in a Test match.[128] Boycott reached the milestone from the bowling of Greg Chappell with an on drive for four.[129][130] In the match, Boycott became the fourth English player to be on the field for the entire duration of a Test.[128] Boycott ended the series with 442 runs at an average of 147.33.[6]

Appointed vice-captain for the tour of Pakistan and New Zealand that winter, Boycott assumed the captaincy in 1978 for two Tests when Mike Brearley was injured, and brought with him his successful summer form. However, he was replaced upon Brearley's return. While the rest of the England team took part in warm-up matches, Boycott remained in Lahore and organised a special warm-up match in which the team would play itself. However, he went on to occupy the crease for a long period of time, limiting the amount of time other players had to practise. He later stated that, as the number-one batsman, he should have the most time in the middle.[131] In the second Test match, he scored 79 and 100 not out, bringing his Test total since his return to the England team to 684 runs at 136.80.[131] It was between this match and the third Test that Brearley broke his arm, giving Boycott the captaincy.[131] Boycott led England to a draw in the third match, his leadership receiving mixed reviews.[132]

Following Pakistan, Boycott and the England team travelled to New Zealand. In the opening Test match, New Zealand defeated England for the first time in 48 years. Boycott took seven hours and 22 minutes to score 77 runs in the first innings, and in the second innings England were bowled out for 64 when chasing 137 to win.[133] In the second match, Botham's first Test century took England to 418, but by the end of the match England needed to score quickly to force a win. Boycott, however, told his team that he would play the way he always had, and proceeded to accumulate runs very slowly. Derek Randall was run out, and Botham went out to bat with his captain, informing the dressing room that "Boycs will be back in here before the end of the over."[133] Botham then ran Boycott out, later claiming in his autobiography that he had done it deliberately.[134] Indeed, some have suggested that this was a team order. Boycott disputes the suggestion that the run-out was deliberate in his autobiography, referring to Botham's account as "a story that gets bigger and more fanciful with every telling".[135] The tale does nevertheless remain a renowned story.[136] Boycott then delayed his declaration, much to the frustration of England bowler Bob Willis. England did eventually declare, and Willis took 4/14. New Zealand were bowled out for 105 and England won by 174 runs. Boycott suffered a scratch on his cornea and missed the last two days of the final match,[137] and by the start of the 1978 season, Brearley had taken the captaincy back from Boycott.[138]

Boycott played 38 Test matches against Australia during Ashes' competitions, scoring 2,945 runs at 47.50, with seven centuries.[139]

During the 1978–79 Ashes series, Boycott unusually went in as a Number 11 in the second innings of a match against state side South Australia (not due to injury).[140] At Perth on 15 December, he scored 77 runs without hitting a boundary – the highest total of this nature – though it did include an all-run four.[141] England went on to win the six-Test series 5–1,[142] with Boycott struggling overall through three of the Tests with 263 runs at 21.91.[143] Boycott then played in the 1979 Cricket World Cup held in England, taking two wickets in the opening match against Australia, which England won. The hosts then went on to win their next two games and topped their table for the opening round. Reaching the final after a close victory against New Zealand in which Boycott scored only two,[144] he hit 57 from 105 balls as England chased Viv Richards 138 not out-inspired 286 to win, falling 92 runs short at 194 all out.[145] Boycott ended the competition with the sixth highest strike rate of 42.99 and an average of 23.00.[146]

Following the World Cup, against Australia during a Test match at Perth in 1979–80, Boycott became the first man to be marooned on 99 not out in a Test when he ran out of partners. England then toured the West Indies. Here, Boycott again faced the West Indies' feared pace attack, but succeeded in scoring centuries off the likes of Holding, Roberts, Colin Croft and Joel Garner, despite having passed the age of 40 the previous year.[92] Other batsmen, such as David Gower, found the attack difficult to cope with, and the later England captain stated that Boycott often had no sympathy.[147] Boycott was the third most successful batsman, behind Gooch and Gower, during a tour in which England went down 2–0. He scored 70 in the opening match, the only England player to pass 50.[147]

In the third match, in Bridgetown, Barbados, Boycott was to face what was later said to be Holding's greatest over.[148] Boycott was hit on the gloves by the first delivery, played-and-missed the second outside off stump, was hit on the thigh by the third, fended the next two deliveries away with his bat, and was then bowled by the final delivery.[148][149] Though in 1987 Boycott would claim a 1966 delivery by Gary Sobers to be the best he ever faced in cricket,[150] he noted of Holding's over that "for the first time in my life I can look at a scoreboard with a duck against my name and not feel a profound sense of failure."[149] Boycott led an England fightback in the fourth Test. Having watched Holding's over several times on video, and worked in the nets on his game, Boycott came out and made 38 in the first innings and then hit his twentieth Test century. His career run total was now 7,410, gaining on Gary Sobers' record of 8,032.[151]

He then played in the 1981 Ashes series, despite being aged 40. During the second Test at Lord's Boycott was dismissed 40 short of a hundred by Dennis Lillee, and was "crushed" given that, as it was his hundredth Test match, he wished to score a century.[9] Forever keen on the England captaincy, Boycott's hopes were cut short when Botham's 149 not out secured victory in Boycott's 101st Test match, and Mike Brearley's position as captain was made secure.[11]

During the series, Boycott became concerned with his form and that he may be dropped before he could chase Sobers' record in the upcoming tour of India. He had scored only 10 and 37 in the Fifth Test; however, in the drawn Sixth Test at The Oval he scored 137, passing Colin Cowdrey's record of 7624 runs and becoming England's highest run-scorer.[152] He ended the series behind only Botham, with 392 runs at 32.66.[153]

Boycott was again refused the captaincy for the next Test series against India over the winter of 1981–82. Angered by this decision, he stated that "even the Yorkshire Ripper got a fair trial in the dock but I've not been given a single chance."[9][154] He later battled Keith Fletcher over his slow scoring rate, playing Fletcher's comments to him during a press conference using a tape recorder.[155] The series against India was to be his last. In his final ODI match during England's tour he scored 6 from 12 deliveries.[156] During the following Test series he passed Sobers' career run record, hitting 60 in the first Test, 36 and 50 in the second to take him 81 runs short, and in the third Test he overtook the record with a flick off his pads for four.[157] He became the leading Test run-scorer.[8] In his last Test match, the fourth of the tour, taking place in January 1982, he scored 18 and six.[158] During the tour, Boycott claimed he was too ill to field in a Test Match, but it was later discovered that he was playing golf while his teammates were still out on the field.[159]

This led to Boycott being dropped from the side and forced to return to England, despite apologising via a note to the England dressing room.[11][160] He claimed in his autobiography, however, that he went to the golf course following medical advice to get fresh air.[159] Later in 1982 he was instrumental in organising, in defiance of a United Nations and a TCCB ban, a rebel tour of apartheid South Africa by 13 current and former England Test cricketers, who were almost all nearing the end of their careers. All the players were banned from international cricket for three years as a result.[161] By the mid-1980s, with Boycott in good county form and physical shape, there was speculation that he might return to the England side. David Gower, England captain of the time, stated, however, that "Geoffrey's been a marvellous servant for England but we have to look to the future and, in view of his age, it wouldn't make an awful lot of sense to pick him again." This was confirmed by the return of Graham Gooch and Tim Robinson's 175 against Australia at Leeds, which prompted Botham, who had once remarked that Boycott was "totally, almost insanely, selfish",[154] to sing 'Bye-bye Boycott' from the England balcony.[162]

Cricket commentator and statistician Simon Hughes states that Boycott is fastidious in the commentary box, always immaculately dressed, and never socialises with the other commentators or production staff.[164] Bill Sinrich, an official of Trans World International, commented that Boycott "fulfilled all our hopes. He was animated, intelligent, informed, with opinions that got the attention of most people."[165]

Boycott laid claim to coining the phrase "corridor of uncertainty" as a reference to the area outside the off stump where a batsman is unsure whether he should leave or hit the ball and was noted for using a key to measure the hardness of the pitch, until this was outlawed by the International Cricket Council.[4] He is especially known for several stock phrases that have become his recognised trademarks in the cricket-watching world, notably (of dropped catches) that his mother or grandmother "could have caught that in her pinny" or (of an easy batting miss) that they could have "hit the ball with a stick of rhubarb." These two phrases in particular inspire much affectionate spoofing of his style.[166][167][168]

Boycott was offered a role by Talksport.[169][170]

Boycott continued to commentate for the station, along with various satellite and Asian channels, until 2003, when his career was further threatened by throat cancer (see below). Having successfully undergone treatment, Boycott enjoyed a renaissance in his career as he returned to high-profile commentating with Channel 4, which had replaced the BBC as rights holders for televising England's home Test games. In November 2005, Boycott re-joined the BBC's Test Match Special to provide commentary for England's 2005 tour of Pakistan. In January 2006, Boycott joined Asian channel Ten Sports. He delivered the 2005 Colin Cowdrey Lecture, speaking about the need for cricket to adapt to changing circumstances and embrace innovations like Twenty20.

Boycott worked on Cricket on Five with Mark Nicholas and Simon Hughes as co-commentators, and was a member of the BBC Cricket Team for commentary on the 2006/7 Ashes series. His role, as in his other commentary-related work, was to contribute to discussion of the main talking points. During England's 5–0 whitewash by Australia, Boycott stated that the team were undeserving of their MBEs and that he felt "so bad about mine I'm going to tie it round my cat. It doesn't mean anything any more. It's a joke".[13]

Boycott has been credited as having a high level of influence in the game, with Yorkshire's Chief Executive Stewart Regan crediting Boycott over the completion of a deal for Younis Khan to play county cricket for Yorkshire in the 2007 season.[171] On a larger scale, Boycott has worked towards scrapping the rule at Yorkshire regarding the number of overseas players. He stated that he believed Brian Close and the other selectors to be living in "past times", and that he wished to encourage a growth in the number of players from Pakistan, the West Indies and India.[172]

His on-air commentary has caused controversy. As a commentator, Boycott has renewed his "pull-no-punches" style, in contrast to most of his fellow commentators. In particular he is known for criticising players, often in a caustic and strident style. In 2005, he mocked the Australian captain Ricky Ponting for electing to bowl first on a batsman-friendly pitch, saying he was a "nice man" for being so generous to the England team. In 2006, he was initially receptive to the difficulties endured by Marcus Trescothick during his periods of stress-related illness; however, he was not always as amiable.[121]

In 2014, Boycott described Indian batsman Gautam Gambhir as "rubbish" based on his performances when the Indian team toured England in 2014. Gambhir was called in as a replacement for injured batsman Shikhar Dhawan for the fifth test match. Subsequently, the third ball into the start of the test match, fast bowler James Anderson bowled Gambhir for a duck. Boycott was heard then saying: "Well he is rubbish isn't he, I told ya. He can't bat in England. I've seen him play nearly all of his 50 test matches. Flat decks in India where the ball doesn't bounce it doesn't do much" in response to commentator Michael Vaughan questioning the matter of being "too early" into the test match to make any comment on Gambhir.[173][174][175]

Nevertheless, Boycott has enjoyed a successful commentating career, and his opinions are sought across a number of cricketing media. As well as newspaper columns, Boycott contributes to several online blogs, podcasts and question and answer sessions, notably on the BBC News website and CricInfo.[176] He is also popular among cricket pundits and biographers, being the subject of three significant biographies from 1982 to 2000,[165] while his comments are reproduced across a number of published cricketing quotes collections.[163]

In June 2020, Boycott announced his retirement from Test Match Special, citing the COVID-19 pandemic and his heart surgery as the reasons.[177]

Boycott lived for forty years with Anne Wyatt.[178]

In 1996, Boycott was accused of assault by Margaret Moore, a former lover. Boycott denied the charges, claiming she had fallen over and injured herself. He pointed to the fact that Moore was in financial difficulties and said that he would never hit a woman. Moore was declared bankrupt shortly after making the allegations.[179] Boycott was absent for the first trial in January at which he was convicted, after his lawyers had been wrongly informed that it was merely a preliminary hearing.[180] In the second trial, beginning on 20 October 1998, Boycott appeared before a French magistrates' court and was given a three-month suspended sentence,[181] and his £5,300 fine was confirmed.[182] He was criticised by the magistrate for the way he conducted his case and for "rudely interrupting" Mrs Moore's barrister.[183] In September 2019, the magistrate who convicted Boycott recalled that "he was arrogant and he had a deplorable attitude throughout the trial".[184]

According to Boycott, Moore had grown angry when he refused to marry her, stating that "he was not the marrying kind" and had fallen when throwing his clothing from the window, hitting her head on the carpet.[185] When he again appealed against his conviction, Moore's version of events that Boycott had attacked her by punching her in the face, causing bruising, was upheld, in the light of photographs of her injuries shown to the court and the testimony of a doctor that the injuries could not have been caused in the way described by Boycott.[186][187] In 2015, an investigation by the Daily Telegraph alleged that Moore had admitted to a friend she had slipped on a marble floor and hit her head, causing the injury she later claimed was caused by Boycott. The newspaper also discovered that Boycott's solicitor had been contacted by a representative of Moore, suggesting that the allegation would be dropped if he paid her £150,000. Boycott refused to pay the sum demanded, stating he "considered it to be blackmail". A separate incident documented in court papers also revealed Moore's barrister had demanded £1million from Boycott in return for her silence. Moore's lack of honesty has also been documented in other court cases relating to her business, when Mr Registrar James made a bankruptcy order against her he noted "a deliberate lack of truthfulness" in her evidence.[188][189]

At the time of the conviction he was working for BSkyB and BBC Radio, commentating on England's tour of the West Indies. He was sacked from both roles.[190][191] He was sacked from his columnist's job in The Sun, which announced the dismissal in an article on the front page with the headline "Sun Sacks Boycott the Brute",[192] although The Sun had given Boycott an undertaking in writing that they would continue to employ him regardless of the result of the court case,[123] as had Talk Sport.[193] A BBC television spokesman said "Geoffrey Boycott is not under contract with the BBC [television] and there are no plans to use him in the future".[194]

Boycott's commentating career continued, as he was able to carry on working overseas, particularly in India. He hosted The Sunny and Boycs Show with Sunil Gavaskar and he hosted the touring Indian team at his home in August 2002.[195] He worked in South Africa and coached the Pakistan cricket team upon request. In 2001, as resentment towards him in the British media following the court case died down, he was reinstated as a writer for British newspapers, and there was speculation that he would coach Lancashire County Cricket Club following the departure of Bob Simpson, though Mike Watkinson eventually took the role.

Boycott married Rachael Swinglehurst on 26 February 2003 at Wakefield Register Office, and they have a daughter, Emma (born October 1988).[196][197][198]

Talksport, as well as both Indian and South African television programmes, continued to use Boycott as a commentator in 2002, during which he suffered a continual sore throat. Finding a lump while shaving, Boycott returned to England, and on 20 August 2002 was examined at Leeds General Infirmary. By 3 September 2002, he was informed that he had four cancerous tumours in his throat.[4]

Initially, surgeons recommended an eight-hour procedure to remove the tumours; their size and proximity to his voice box eventually persuaded them to recommend radiotherapy, of which Boycott had 35 sessions from 22 October. By December, scans revealed that the majority of the tumours had disappeared, and the final tumour's disappearance was confirmed in early 2003. Although initially reluctant to discuss his health with the public, he spoke privately with his daughter, Emma, and then released a statement publicly, which evoked a significant emotional response.[199] On 16 August 2003, he was given his own standing ovation by the crowd at Trent Bridge as he and a number of other cricketers did a lap of the ground in vehicles to celebrate Trent Bridge's 50th Test match.[196]

Following this public support, Boycott resumed writing for The Daily Telegraph and commentating on Channel Four for the Cheltenham and Gloucester Championship Final and the following summer's cricket. Radio Five Live then hired Boycott in early 2004. His fellow commentators state that his illness has altered his voice and led to a more pleasant personality, but that he is still prone to unpleasant behaviour. Channel Four producer Gary Francis stated "I think Geoff is a lot more mellow now. He still has his moments, like when the taxi does not arrive and he is not happy, as he makes extremely clear. But overall he's great fun to work with."[200]

In September 2004, Boycott wrote for The Daily Telegraph a posthumous tribute to lifelong friend Brian Clough.[201]

In 2004, it was reported in The Yorkshire Post that Boycott was supporting the United Kingdom Independence Party in that year's election for the European Parliament.

In early 2008, there was speculation that Boycott would be given a role on the England coaching staff, pertaining in particular to the coaching of Andrew Flintoff back from injury.[202] On 8 May 2008, however, the ECB revealed that Boycott would not hold such a position. The two had been involved in the past, and while Flintoff is an admirer of Boycott, the ECB stressed any coaching relationship would only be informal. Boycott, however, used to give informal talks to younger cricket players during his career, and the media speculated that he might find a place coaching the England U19s.[202] Boycott continued in his commentating career for TMS, criticising the England team's approach to the ODI matches under Pietersen in India in November 2008.[203] Also in November, Leo McKinstry published a new biography of Boycott.[165]

On 2 January 2009, Boycott, along with 54 others, was inducted into the ICC Hall of Fame.[14] On 9 August 2009, while commentating on the fourth Ashes Test at Headingley that season, he was invited to take part in an on-field ceremony to induct him into the Hall of Fame along with Ian Botham and the Yorkshire greats Wilfred Rhodes and Fred Trueman. Botham was also in attendance, along with Trueman's widow, Veronica, and Colin Graves who, as Yorkshire County Cricket Club chairman, accepted the honour on behalf of Rhodes. Boycott said: "I would like to thank the ICC for awarding me this great honour and for also choosing Headingley as the venue. This ground holds so many wonderful memories for me and the Yorkshire public have always been my greatest supporters, so having this award on home soil in front of them makes it more special". Colin Graves included Boycott in his tribute to Rhodes when he said: "It is a great honour to accept the cap on behalf of a Yorkshire legend. Wilfred Rhodes was an exceedingly gifted player and is rightly regarded as one of England's greatest all-rounders. I am also delighted to see two other great Yorkshiremen and another great all-rounder inducted into the ICC Cricket Hall of Fame today".[204]

Boycott continued to be an active member of the cricket community, voicing his support in late April 2009 for Pakistan player Saeed Ajmal, and calling for the legalisation of the doosra spin-bowling delivery.[205] He levelled criticism in July 2009 against Kevin Pietersen for his captaincy difficulties and in September against Andrew Flintoff for his apparent favour of club cricket over internationals.[206][207]

On 29 November 2009, Boycott was commentating an ODI between England and South Africa when he was heard swearing on air following a catch taken by Paul Collingwood that dismissed Ryan McLaren. The BBC released a statement on 30 November which read: "An off-air comment made by Geoffrey Boycott in a live broadcast was heard by some listeners which we apologised for as soon as we realised it had been audible."[208][209]

On 19 August 2017, during an interval question and answer session on day 3 of the England v West Indies Test at Edgbaston, Boycott stated he was more likely to get a knighthood if he "blacked his face". He later stated that his comment had been "clearly wrong" and stated he had "utmost respect" for West Indian cricket players.[210] Having long been nicknamed "Sir Geoffrey", Boycott was formally given that title when appointed a Knight Bachelor in Theresa May's resignation honours on 10 September 2019.[211] In response to criticism from anti-domestic abuse campaigners about his knighthood, Boycott said that he "does not give a toss".[212]

Boston Hall in Boston Spa, the home of Boycott since 2013

In March 2012, Boycott was elected President of Yorkshire County Cricket Club. Elected at an annual meeting, he gained 91.09% of the vote.[213] The election came on the back of Yorkshire's relegation from the first to the second division of the County Championship, the reversal of which Boycott targeted immediately upon taking up the post. He remarked to the media that "The only thing that really matters to the membership is that Yorkshire do well in Championship cricket."[213] His tenure also presided over the club's 150th anniversary in 2013. In February 2014, it was revealed that former Test umpire and Yorkshire player Dickie Bird would replace Boycott.[214]

In March 2013, Boycott and his partner Rachael Swinglehurst purchased the Grade II listed Boston Hall in Boston Spa, West Yorkshire, citing a desire to be closer to family, friends, and Yorkshire County Cricket Club.[215] Later in 2014 he released a book entitled Geoffrey Boycott: The Corridor of Certainty with Simon & Schuster. ESPNcricinfo reviewed the piece in October, commenting on Boycott's more amiable personality since his recovery from cancer: "we have a much more rounded and nuanced book, full of self-awareness and a willingness, even eagerness, to acknowledge errors, failings and regrets... This a complex, driven man, whom we all recognise and admire for his achievements, revealing aspects of his life and survival that have hitherto been kept close to his chest."[216]

Such was Boycott's longevity in the game that he had 16 opening partners for England.[243][244]

The reason why these figures cover only 191 of Boycott's 193 Test innings is because he batted at No.4 in both innings of the third Test against West Indies at Bridgetown in March 1974 (after Denness, Amiss and Jameson). He opened the batting in the other four Tests in that series.