AR: And now to the question that you have picked as the best one that has come in for you this week. It's from Angus Wagstaff from Australia, who asks: with the end of the decade approaching, who do you think is the best cricketer of the decade?
Geoffrey Boycott: Great question, Angus, I wasn't expecting it actually. I made a list of the players who come to mind immediately and they are Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Mohammad Yousuf. I had a quick look at the figures, but it's not about figures alone, it's about how they dictate matches and contribute to winning or saving matches.
In 2006, Yousuf got the most number of Test runs in a calendar year, with 1788 runs at 99.33. He beat the great Vivian Richards' record - a 30-year-old record - of 1710 runs in 1976, at around 90. But I don't see Yousuf being a dominant force in one-dayers.
You have to talk about Lara every time he plays. But his 375 against England came in 1994 and his 501 - the highest first-class score - for Warwickshire against Durham also came in the same year. The one in this decade was the 400 against England. Honestly, I don't think that he has done enough in this decade to be called the player of this decade.
Warne has got lots of wickets, but he retired after Australia beat England 5-0 in Australia in 2006-07. He's done a lot but I am not sure about the decade.
You can't talk about a decade without talking about Tendulkar. He has been a superb athlete and figure for a long time now. He has made about 20 Test and ODI centuries [since 2000] and he helps win matches as well, particularly one-dayers. He has to be a factor.
Then you have Muttiah Muralitharan. How can you keep Murali out of anything? He has got over 500 Test wickets [since 2000] and he gets his wickets at early twenties and has many match-winning performances. He has five- and 10-wicket hauls and wins matches, particularly in the subcontinent. But I always have a worry about him. I feel the laws of the game have been altered through the ICC to accommodate his bent arm. I know it's all right to technically throw ball: you can bend and straighten your arm a few degrees and the ICC says it's all right. He is a lovely lad, I like him a lot, but it sticks in my throat, that. I am a purist.
I come down to two players. I come down to Ponting, who has been extraordinarily good. He has made something like 32 Test centuries and 23 ODI centuries [since 2000]. But I also come to another guy who is slightly overlooked - Kallis from South Africa. He has, I think, 26 Test centuries and about 11 ODI centuries. On top of that, both are great catchers at slip. Ponting is a great outfielder at midwicket and cover; he actually runs people out. Kallis has got over 200 [Test] wickets since 2000. He didn't do so well when he first bowled, but in the last decade he has got his wickets and he bowls in the ODIs as well. It's very difficult to separate them. If push came to shove I might go for Kallis, because bowlers win matches. But I really would prefer to bracket them both: Ponting has got more Test runs and hundreds, Kallis' wickets are as important as his runs. If I can and Angus is not going to get cross at me, I would like to bracket Kallis and Ponting together as the two players of this decade.
I have alot of problems with his answer.
Geoffrey Boycott: Great question, Angus, I wasn't expecting it actually. I made a list of the players who come to mind immediately and they are Brian Lara, Sachin Tendulkar, Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Jacques Kallis, Ricky Ponting and Mohammad Yousuf. I had a quick look at the figures, but it's not about figures alone, it's about how they dictate matches and contribute to winning or saving matches.
In 2006, Yousuf got the most number of Test runs in a calendar year, with 1788 runs at 99.33. He beat the great Vivian Richards' record - a 30-year-old record - of 1710 runs in 1976, at around 90. But I don't see Yousuf being a dominant force in one-dayers.
You have to talk about Lara every time he plays. But his 375 against England came in 1994 and his 501 - the highest first-class score - for Warwickshire against Durham also came in the same year. The one in this decade was the 400 against England. Honestly, I don't think that he has done enough in this decade to be called the player of this decade.
Warne has got lots of wickets, but he retired after Australia beat England 5-0 in Australia in 2006-07. He's done a lot but I am not sure about the decade.
You can't talk about a decade without talking about Tendulkar. He has been a superb athlete and figure for a long time now. He has made about 20 Test and ODI centuries [since 2000] and he helps win matches as well, particularly one-dayers. He has to be a factor.
Then you have Muttiah Muralitharan. How can you keep Murali out of anything? He has got over 500 Test wickets [since 2000] and he gets his wickets at early twenties and has many match-winning performances. He has five- and 10-wicket hauls and wins matches, particularly in the subcontinent. But I always have a worry about him. I feel the laws of the game have been altered through the ICC to accommodate his bent arm. I know it's all right to technically throw ball: you can bend and straighten your arm a few degrees and the ICC says it's all right. He is a lovely lad, I like him a lot, but it sticks in my throat, that. I am a purist.
I come down to two players. I come down to Ponting, who has been extraordinarily good. He has made something like 32 Test centuries and 23 ODI centuries [since 2000]. But I also come to another guy who is slightly overlooked - Kallis from South Africa. He has, I think, 26 Test centuries and about 11 ODI centuries. On top of that, both are great catchers at slip. Ponting is a great outfielder at midwicket and cover; he actually runs people out. Kallis has got over 200 [Test] wickets since 2000. He didn't do so well when he first bowled, but in the last decade he has got his wickets and he bowls in the ODIs as well. It's very difficult to separate them. If push came to shove I might go for Kallis, because bowlers win matches. But I really would prefer to bracket them both: Ponting has got more Test runs and hundreds, Kallis' wickets are as important as his runs. If I can and Angus is not going to get cross at me, I would like to bracket Kallis and Ponting together as the two players of this decade.
I have alot of problems with his answer.
