Unlike his innings, it was over too quickly
MODESTY was never one of cricket idol Geoffrey Boycott’s strong points.
So when he announces at Loughborough Town Hall that he was the ‘best batsman in the world for three years in the early 1970s’ it meets with titters of amusement, rather than tuts of disapproval.
Let’s face it – we knew the score before buying tickets to see the Yorkshire legend, now 76, in conversation with the amiable Simon Fielder.
Boycs has always been the same, whether as a genuinely world class batsman or today as an outspoken pundit. Straight and blunt to the core, he is loved all the more for it.
The evening didn’t disappoint, mixing interesting insight into his modest and sickly upbringing in Fitzwilliam, West Yorkshire, with footage from some of his most famous on field exploits including his first Test match, 100th hundred at his home ground Headingly et al.
There were also moments when the great man came thudding back to earth, notably running out local hero Derek Randall at Trent Bridge and being bamboozled by what has gone into folklore as the greatest ever over bowled by Michael Holding.
But, as ever, Boycs gets the last word, pointing out that he went on to score a century in Nottingham and even got instant, sweet revenge on the West Indies.
He spoke frequently of the ‘mental toughness’ needed to face up to some of the fastest and greatest bowlers in cricket history when the West Indies ruled by ability and fear.
Whilst physical survival was consolation enough for being bowled out quickly for some of his lower order colleagues, Boycs, stubborn and unflinching, never gave an inch.
There were words of encouragement for new England skipper Joe Root but this was mostly an evening delving into the past.
Definitely an evening for people of a certain age who remember Boycott’s exploits, this was an enjoyable listen when time passed all too quickly.