"They should have beaten both" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott rues missed chances against Australia and India

Former England opener Sir Geoffrey Boycott asserted that winning is more important than suggesting how well the Englishmen can reinvent Test cricket. With England failing to beat Rohit Sharma and Co., the Yorkshire man feels they had an opportunity to win against both India and Australia.

The 2023 Ashes in England ended in a draw, resulting in Australia retaining the urn as they already held it. Ben Stokes' men came to India with reasonably high hopes and won the opening Test in Hyderabad, but went on to lose the subsequent three, with the latest defeat coming in Ranchi. In the process, the hosts took an unassailable 3-1 lead.

In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott stated that it should hurt England to lose to India and draw with Australia when they could've beaten both.

"Bazball has given Test cricket a shot in the arm and England deserve praise for that. At times, I love it. But I love winning more and England have failed to beat the best two teams in the world: Australia and now India. What should really hurt them is that they should have beaten both."

The 108-Test veteran observed that England have been cocky at times.

"I know they all have to buy into the Bazball mantra because that is all they talk about. To play with no fear is good, but at times England were reckless and too cocky about how they were going to smack everybody around."

The visitors had an opportunity to gain a lead of over 100 on Day 3 in Ranchi but Dhruv Jurel's 90 limited the score to 46. Later, their batting collapsed to 145 all-out from 110-3 as Shoaib Bashir's best efforts were not enough to force a win.

"Six of the Indian players have averages higher than 43" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott

Sir Geoffrey Boycott. (Credits: Getty)

Boycott also highlighted the England batters' inconsistency as only Zak Crawley averages over 40 for the side, adding:

"The batting cost them winning the Ashes and it lost them the series against India. In this series, they have had odd moments when someone has scored a good hundred. But they have been in isolation and there has been no consistency. Zak Crawley is the one England player averaging over 40. Six of the Indian players have averages higher than 43."

With one Test still left, England have a chance to walk away from India with another win.