Profile: Geoffrey Boycott

A stalwart of England’s batting for nearly 20 years, Geoff Boycott turned the forward defensive into an art form.

Boycott was the first English batsmen to pass 8,000 test runs, and alongside Colin Cowdrey and Wally Hammond sits at the top of the list of English century makers with 22. Boycott’s value to the England team was such that it did not lose a Test Match when he scored a century and lost only 20 of the 108 he played in. Although the long form of the game was where he found most success, he did make history in one day cricket when he became the first person to face a ball, and be out, in One Day Internationals.

Boycott made his debut for Yorkshire in 1962 and represented the white rose county for 24 years, making 151 first class centuries. His most famous of all was his 100th hundred when, against Australia in front of his home crowd at Headingley in 1977, he became the first cricketer to score his 100th first class century in a Test Match. He was on the field for the entire Test. Twice he averaged in excess of 100 for the English first class season – 100.12 in 1971 and 102.53 in 1979, a feat only achieved by one other man, Mark Ramprakash.

Since retiring Boycott has become an influential media figure, commentating on Test Match Special, Channel Five and Ten Sports and writing for the Daily Telegraph. He has also written several books on cricket including, with David Hopps, a biography of umpire Dickie Bird.

In 2005 Boycott delivered the Cowdrey Lecture at Lord’s where he urged cricket to adapt to the faster pace of modern life, recommending four-day Test Matches, stricter over rates, the use of floodlights in Tests and a Twenty20 World Cup.