RCB Star BLASTED By Former England Captain: ‘He Rarely Plays An Important Knock’

Former England captain Sir Geoff Boycott ripped into Phil Salt in the aftermath of the Three Lions’ Champions Trophy exit, terming the opener a ‘T20 dasher’ while claiming that he rarely makes important contributions to the side.

In a dismal showing, Salt registered scores of 8, 12 & 10 in the Champions Trophy, lasting just 25 balls in total. Salt has outstanding T20 numbers but the jury is still very much out on him in ODI cricket, where he now averages just 31.87 from 31 innings.

“For me, Salt is a T20 dasher. He rarely ever plays an important innings that impacts on a match,” Boycott wrote in his column for Telegraph Sport.

“Too often, it is a slog or two in between a proper stroke without looking as if he will stay in and make a substantial contribution that will impact the match.”

The 84-year-old further labelled England’s decision to bat rookie Jamie Smith at No.3 ‘ridiculous’. Smith somehow had an even worse CT 2025 than Salt, registering scores of 0, 9 & 15.

“Jaime Smith as a No 3 was ridiculous. Smith has done well as a newcomer to Test cricket, but if I was an England batsman selected for the 50-over team and they promoted a wicketkeeper to bat in front of me, I would be insulted and mad as hell,” Boycott wrote.

The former England opener also questioned the actual role of Liam Livingstone in the ODI setup. “Does Liam Livingstone know what his role is? In fact, does anyone know what his role is because I don’t,” Boycott wrote. 

“He comes in, whatever the state of the game and whacks a couple of boundaries and then gets out. There is a lot of talk about how destructive a hitter he is, but for me, he rarely delivers. 

“Is he there as a safety-valve sixth bowler who can bat a bit? If he is, his little leg spinners are OK but not very threatening and making a couple of big shots and then holing out does not win matches either.”