Geoffrey Boycott – författare

Who'd make it into the best England team ever? And you can chose anyone, regardless of when they might have played. Would W.G. Grace be playing alongside Denis Compton and David Gower? Or Kevin Pietersen? The debate could be endless, so who better to make the selection than Geoffrey Boycott, himself one of England's all-time highest scoring Test batsmen and now the game's most forthright, shrewd and iconoclastic commentator.Based on his own fresh analysis amd interpretation of the statistics, Boycs has come up with his own, sometimes surprising Best Eleven of all time. And he's not just cast a critical eye over England's finest either. Every other test-playing nation comes under the spotlight.You may not agree - in fact, you're almost certain not to - but each player has been carefully chosen and the case for his inclusion forcefully argued in what is sure to be the most entertaining, thought-provoking and memorable cricket books of the year from one of the game's most outspoken and enduring characters.

‘Misguided, mishandled, criticised and crucified – and only because he’s different,’ said Brian Clough. ‘The ultimate perfectionist … he comes nearer to faultlessness than anyone else,’ said John Arlott. Captain of Yorkshire and England, yet discarded by both when still at his peak, Boycott was at the top for over twenty years. Here he tells his own story.He talks of his love-hate relationship with Yorkshire cricket, his many triumphs for England and his key partnerships with team-mates like Denness, Brearley and Botham. And he speaks for the first time about why he chose to opt out of Test cricket for three years in the mid-1970s.Many felt that Boycott was the greatest batsman of his time, and that, despite his achievements, he was unfairly treated. Known by a new generation as a pull-no-punches commentator, this is the story of one of our greatest, and most controversial, sporting heroes.

Geoffrey Boycott is one of the most outspoken and knowledgeable voices on cricket - but this book opens up a whole, new personal side to his life. Thirteen years ago, he received the diagnosis that tore his world apart: he had cancer of the tongue. Having faced down the fastest bowlers during his career as one of England's greatest-ever batsmen, he now had to take on an even more daunting foe. Boycott not only relives his terrifying battle with cancer but also writes movingly about his long-time love Rachael, and their daughter Emma. He talks about his many other interests and friendships beyond cricket, with a great chapter on Brian Clough as well as revealing some surprising enthusiasms: Boycott and Katy Perry? But Boycott has devoted his life to cricket, and his insights on the game, its players and those who write and talk about it are never less than frank, revealing, entertaining and very honest. He assesses the modern generation of players: how does he rate England's prolific captain Alastair Cook? And is Kevin Pietersen a batting genius or a player who has frittered away his talent? His opinions come with the authority of someone with profound knowledge of and love for the sport.In commentary, he refers to the 'corridor of uncertainty' for a batsman - but with Geoffrey Boycott there is never any room for that, which is why this book is such a compelling and entertaining read.

Geoffrey Boycott is one of the most outspoken and knowledgeable voices on cricket - but this book opens up a whole, new personal side to his life.Thirteen years ago, he received the diagnosis that tore his world apart: he had cancer of the tongue. Having faced down the fastest bowlers during his career as one of England's greatest-ever batsmen, he now had to take on an even more daunting foe. In this fascinating new book, his first autobiographical work for more than 15 years, Boycott not only relives his terrifying battle with cancer but also writes movingly about his long-time love Rachael, and their daughter Emma. He talks about his many other interests and friendships beyond cricket, with a great chapter on Brian Clough as well as revealing some surprising enthusiasms: Boycott and Katy Perry?But Boycott has devoted his life to cricket, and his insights on the game, its players and those who write and talk about it are never less than frank, revealing, entertaining and very honest. He assesses the modern generation of players: how does he rate England's prolific captain Alastair Cook? And is Kevin Pietersen a batting genius or a player who has frittered away his talent? His opinions come with the authority of someone with profound knowledge of and love for the sport.In commentary, he refers to the 'corridor of uncertainty' for a batsman - but with Geoffrey Boycott there is never any room for that, which is why this book is such a compelling and entertaining read.

Geoffrey Boycott is undoubtedly one of England’s greatest ever batsmen. Playing 108 Test matches between 1964 and 1982, the hugely controversial opener scored a then record 8,114 runs at 47.72 – the highest completed average of any English player since 1970 – against some of the greatest bowlers the world has ever seen.When the first lockdown came, finding himself without cricket for the first time in his life, Geoffrey Boycott sat down and began to write a retrospective warts-and-all diary of each of his Test match appearances. It is illuminating and unsparing, characterised by Boycott’s astonishing memory, famous forthrightness and unvarnished, sometimes lacerating, honesty. That 100,000 word document forms the basis for Being Geoffrey Boycott, a device that takes the reader inside Geoffrey’s head and back through cricket history, presenting a unique portrait of the internal and external forces that compelled him from a pit village in Yorkshire to the pinnacle of the world game.Now 81 and still one of the most recognisable cricketers England has ever produced, Boycott has teamed up with award-winning author Jon Hotten in this catalogue of his tumultuous time with the national side. Dropped for scoring a slow double hundred, making himself unavailable to play for England for several years, captain for eight seasons of a group of strong, stroppy and extremely talented players at Yorkshire, bringing up his hundredth hundred at Headingley against the Old Enemy, seeing David Gower and Ian Botham emerge as future greats, playing under Mike Brearley in the 1981 Ashes, in this enlightening book Boycott reveals a host of never-before-heard details regarding his peers and his playing days.