England vs South Africa 2017: Geoffrey Boycott Slams Keaton Jennings, Ridicules His Technique
Apr 6, 2019 at 2:11 PM
Former England captain and presently a popular commentator, Geoffrey Boycott has slammed English opener Keaton Jennings for his poor technique in the ongoing Test series against the Proteas and said one can’t play Test cricket with a technique which Jennings has.
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The southpaw has been troubled by the South African bowlers on a consistent basis and he has only managed to score 44 runs in his last four outings. The left-hander announced his arrival to international with a brilliant century on debut against India last year but has struggled since then and will be under enormous pressure to perform in the 2nd innings.
Jennings lasted just nine balls in the 1st innings before nicking a brilliant delivery from Vernon Philander straight to the wicketkeeper, Quinton de Kock. He has been woefully out of touch and hasn’t been able to get behind the ball.
“You can’t play Test cricket like that. You have to be positive in defence as well as in attack,” Boycott was quoted as saying by 5 live Breakfast.
“If you’re tentative, it’s no good. He’s tentatively poking at the ball, he’s hunting for it. That doesn’t work. You’ve got to be positive forward and positive back. There’s nothing positive in his batting at the minute and his technique is poor,” he further added.
Alastair Cook remained unbeaten on 82 when stumps were taken on Day 1 which enabled the hosts to reach 171/4 at the end of the day’s play. The play has already started on Day 2 and the overnight batsmen Cook and Ben Stokes have walked out in the middle in pursuit of a big 1st innings total. Meanwhile, the four match Test series is squared 1-1 which makes the remaining two Test that more exciting.
It was Joe Root’s brilliant 190 in the 1st Test which proved to be the difference between the two teams. The Proteas bounced back strongly in the 2nd match and registered a comprehensive 340 runs victory. It was a thoroughly professional performance by the visitors which helped them level the series.
Vernon Philander and Chris Morris bowled brilliantly and troubled the hosts on a consistent basis and with the return of Kagiso Rabada in this Test, the scales are slightly tilted in favour of the visitors.