India Tour Will Be the Ultimate Test for Crawley and Pope: Geoffrey Boycott

Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope's centuries against Zimbabwe did nothing to convince former England legend Geoffrey Boycott that they have finally transcended the mental and technical deficiencies that have undermined their careers.

Their real test, for Boycott, will come in England's scheduled five-Test series next month against India.

Crawley's recent form in New Zealand, where he averaged less than nine and was bowled by Matt Henry in both innings, was more alarming. Pope, meanwhile, has had a patchy year. While he came up with a sublime 196 in the Hyderabad Test this year—talked up at the time as one of the greatest English batting performances on Indian soil—he has since been inconsistent.

In his column for the Daily Telegraph, Boycott said: "We cannot instantly say that Crawley and Pope have cracked the technical and mental problems that have plagued their careers because the Zimbabwe bowling was so mediocre."

England's top three—Crawley, Ben Duckett, and Pope—all recorded authoritative centuries as the hosts amassed a comprehensive 565/6 declared, romping home by an innings and 45 runs in the single Test against Zimbabwe. But Boycott downplayed the threat posed by the opposition bowlers.

"They were middle pacers not good enough or consistent enough to reveal any weaknesses in Crawley and Pope's batting. We will have to wait until the India series to determine whether there actually is much improvement against better bowlers. That will be the ultimate test and tell us a better story of where they are at."

In spite of his misgivings, the 84-year-old did admit that the high scores will be a timely morale booster for the English top order.

"The Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope top three scored hundreds. Well done. It is not their fault the bowling was as bad as it was," he declared. "It was just what any batsman would want early in the season: easy runs. Runs leads to confidence, confidence prepares you for the summer. Form and confidence is everything. They did their job but, if we're being honest, it was not a good advertisement for Test match cricket."

He compared the contest to an unfair fight: "It flattered one team and knocked seven bells out of the other one. But England's top three go into the Test series against India full of confidence. They have no excuse now."

Boycott followed up by declaring the game a "mismatch," stating: "It was like putting a heavyweight boxer in with a flyweight. The heavyweight played with the flyweight until he knocked him out with a single punch."

"Zimbabwe were just out of their depth. Anyone could see it. England batted first on a flat track and made use of club bowling and enjoyed batting practice the easy way."

England will then play India in a marquee five-Test series from June 20 in Leeds. Next, they are scheduled for their high-stakes Ashes tour of Australia from November 21 as part of their World Test Championship itinerary.

Boycott raised new doubts over England's bowling lineup approaching the Ashes: "My concern over the Ashes series towards the end of this year has been England's bowling and I did not see anything at Nottingham to alter my view."

"The seamers were made to look very ordinary by a Zimbabwe team who were no better than a minor county outfit."