England's humiliating defeat against India in the second Test at Edgbaston has invited furious criticism from ex-batting legend Geoffrey Boycott, who wondered why under-performing players such as Chris Woakes and Zak Crawley were still being picked.
Writing in his column for The Telegraph, Boycott was frustrated by England's continued faith in Woakes, terming it "counter-productive" in light of the all-rounder's dwindling returns.
Woakes, having now featured in 59 Tests, bowled 82 overs in the first two games but picked just three wickets for 290 runs. His batting too did not have much impact to offer, with 50 runs in three innings and a top score of 38.
"It is counter productive to retain the same lads in the team when they are beyond their sell-by date or not doing their bit," Boycott said.
Pointing towards Woakes' slowing pace and failure to make an impression abroad, Boycott mentioned that the 35-year-old had traditionally performed well only in English conditions.
"Consider the case of Chris Woakes. His speed is declining as it should as a seamer ages. He has never been an overseas wicket-taker, and his record overseas is not good. He is fine – or has been fine – on home pitches, and his batting has been useful at times as a salve when others have not worked," he continued.
Boycott was also skeptical about the dependence of the team management on Woakes' batting to fill the gaps caused by top-order collapses.
"His role should not be to patch up poor batting. Batsmen are batting to add runs and bowlers to take wickets," he emphasized.
Having compared Woakes to England great James Anderson, Boycott claimed that the veteran current bowler is not as crafty and consistent as the long-serving Anderson.
"Woakes has been an excellent cricketer but not a master craftsman like James Anderson, who took buckets full of wickets home and away all the time. Woakes has a bad record in Australia too, which is extremely unlikely to be altered at the age of 36," he observed.
His predecessor saved as severe criticism for Zak Crawley, querying the batter's learning capacity. Crawley, having scored just one half-century in four innings against India in the current series, found himself under the scanner for his frequent technical faults.
I don't believe that he can change or improve. Batting is in the head and the brain determines how you go about batting: what shots you try, what balls you leave. His technical and thought flaws are wired," Boycott said.
Making a comparison with previous skipper Michael Vaughan's criticism, Boycott said Crawley has hit a cap as far as improvement is concerned.
"A leopard doesn't change his spots, or perhaps Zak doesn't want to change. He must be getting up to his prime years but in 56 Tests he has nothing to show. One gem innings and loads of failures, with an average of 31, is not sufficient," he summed up.
With the series now tied at 1-1, England will have to relook at both form and strategy prior to the remaining matches — especially if they wish to recover against an in-form Indian team.
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