Product Description

‘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.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #40157 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author

Since ceasing to play for Yorkshire and England, Geoffrey Boycott has become one of the most recognisable figures in sports journalism, lending his famously no-nonsense Yorkshireman's take on the world of cricket to both the BBC's Test Match Special and Channel 4's cricket coverage.

Customer Reviews

Great man. Poor book.
I admire Boycott for his achievements as a batsmen and for his uncompromising attitude as a commentator.

I cannot admire his autobiography. No personal details are included to add depth to the professional cricketer. The bulk of text explains that critisism he recieved through his career was unfair. The final half of the book is entirely the political struggles he had with Yorkshire CC's senior figures. I read it, but it was tedious.

The first section of the book, covering his early days as a cricketer, are relatively enjoyable.

A few references to some of the people he played alongside helped ease the repitition but they were sparse. Trueman, Botham, Illingworth and a few more get a mention. All such name-dropping is characterised by the bitterness felt towards the individual (for good reason it seems - but the amount of bitterness is hard to read). I think Geoff must have been depressed when he had this ghost written for him.

Too young to have ever seen him play, I am now able to empathise with the people who watched him craft a long, slow, repetive, dispiriting innings.

I cannot recommend this book, except, perhaps, to Yorkshire CC enthusiasts. Others should avoid it.

Only for Fans
I could well imagine that a reader who is not a Boycott fan will not enjoy the near-constant griping about how everyone was against the personality. If you can put this aside, this a great insight into the mind of a great cricketer. There is no mention of the women in Boycott's life - one or two stories there that I would like to hear his side of - but there are plenty of tales of the politics and personalities who dominated Yorkshire cricket in the Boycott era and of the struggle against them.

At times he puts himself over as one of the greatest batsmen of all time, at other times you see that he is also human. I can definately recommend this book to anyone who either admires the man or has yet to form an opinion. It is not the ghost-written list of dates, events and opinions that so many sporting biographies become.

Boycott - The Autobiography
Geoff Boycott. You either love him or loathe him. I'm in the former category. He's a typical Yorkshireman, says what he thinks, and his book reflects that.

The book does have many personal details contained within, especially his relationship with is parents. Describing from when he grew up as a child, his many travels and tribulations to be able to play for his beloved Yorkshire, and England, to his retirement from test cricket.

I never saw Boycott play live, and grew up with Gooch, Botham, Lamb era. However, I found the book very interesting as it does describe well the cricket scene from 1960-1980's. The book does put across strongly the difficulties and struggles that Boycott and his family faced as he realised his cricketing abilities to became a regular for Yorkshire CC.

There are parts were Boycott does go into some detail about instances that were reported, but were not true or reported incorrectly. He does also, with some justification point out some character flaws in others he played with or against. This is where it does lose a star for me, as he does tend to labour the point somewhat.

I found this book very enjoyable, and a great insight to how cricket was played when money wasn't the priority. Just plain cricketing enjoyment. Highly recommended.