“Don’t think he can change or get better” - Geoffrey Boycott’s brutal criticism of England star after ENG vs IND 2025 2nd Test

Former England opener Sir Geoffrey Boycott came down hard on Zak Crawley following his forgettable outing against India in the Edgbaston Test. Boycott even stated that he didn't expect the right-hander to improve, claiming that the England batter won't be able to overcome his shortcomings.

Crawley scored a polished 65 in the second innings of the first Test against India at Headingley, helping England chase down 371. However, the opener put on a shoddy display at Edgbaston, returning with scores of 19 and 0, contributing to England's crushing 336-run loss.

Writing in his column for The Telegraph, the 84-year-old noted that he was surprised that Crawley hadn't improved much when he should be at his best. He opined:

"I don’t think he can change or get better. Batting is in the head and the brain dictates how you approach batting: what shots you attempt, what balls you leave. His faults in technique and thinking are ingrained. A leopard doesn’t change his spots, or maybe Zak does not want to change. He should be approaching his best years but in 56 Tests he has learned nothing."

Reflecting on the Kent batter's pattern of dimissals at Edgbaston, Boycott wrote:

"Just when you think the penny has dropped for Zak Crawley he resorts to his old bad ways. At Headingley, he played straight with the full face of the bat, left wide balls and let the ball come to him so he could keep his bat close to his pad. The two shots he got out to at Edgbaston were awful. In the first innings his feet got stuck in cement, neither forward nor back, and then he wafted at the ball to be caught at slip. Second innings, he batted on off stump and drove at a well pitched up ball two feet wide. He did not need to play it."

In 56 Tests since debuting in 2019, Crawley has scored 3111 runs, averaging a paltry 31.11. The 27-year-old's last hundred against a top Test-playing nation came in 2023 against Australia, when he made 189.

"Not helping England that Stokes is in such poor form with the bat" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott

Ben Stokes. (Image Credits: Getty)

Boycott also identified that Ben Stokes' consistently poor returns with the bat were also hurting England and observed his weakness against spin. He wrote:

"It is not helping England that Stokes is in such poor form with the bat. When he is playing well he is a dynamic, match-winning batsman. He can thump seam or spin to all parts of the ground. We have seen him do it magnificently. But he does have a problem on a wearing pitch when the ball turns and occasionally jumps."

Citing Joe Root's mastery against spin, Boycott added:

"The great batsman like Joe Root, who play the turning ball well, are usually sideways on, stay back and wait for the ball and are able to manoeuvre their hands. What makes it much harder for Ben at the moment is he has had very little match batting so is short of runs and a touch of confidence."

The two sides will resume their battle for the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy on July 10 in the third Test at Lord's.