Geoff Boycott 137 v Australia 6th Test 1981 at The Oval
Transcript
00:00Well, here's the first over and Geoffrey Boycott's taking strike to that great fast bowler
00:04Dennis Dilley and with me in the commentary box is Ted Dexter.
00:12Boycott's away.
00:16And he's doing the chasing.
00:30Three to Boycott, and Larkins now to take strike to Lillie.
00:43Not quite a time that, but Larkins is off the mark.
00:49Missed field there by Willem.
01:01And that's nudged away, exactly where the gully was moved from.
01:05Nicely controlled shot, kept it down, run it down to third man.
01:08There is no third man.
01:11So Boycott will pick up three runs there.
01:24That's a beautiful shot.
01:26Clicked nicely down to square leg, four runs.
01:33Type of stroke there that people at Northampton have been used to seeing
01:38coming from the batter, Wayne Larkins.
01:44He looks splendid in the umpire's hat.
01:48A bit of a Groucho Marx there.
01:51Well, it needed the umpire's hat for some action to come,
01:54even if it was worn by Lillie.
01:59Just shows you what authority that hat gives you.
02:20Just about the most productive shot that we've seen from these two.
02:46For the Larkins.
02:51And the Larkins.
03:07A run for that.
03:12A bit of a pinch stroke that one.
03:15This is a beautiful timed stroke from Wayne Larkins.
03:19He picks that ball off his legs very, very well indeed.
03:26And that went really quickly to the boundary.
03:37Good shot again.
03:39Nice timing off the back foot to bring up the fifty for England.
03:42And they've done it rather comfortably.
03:52Larkins has gone to twenty-eight.
03:54Seventeen to boycott.
04:04And he's gone.
04:06A little bit quicker that one.
04:08And Larkins having just
04:12passed his previous best in test cricket thirty-three.
04:15Falls to Dennis Lillie.
04:17Caught by Terry Alderman at slip for thirty-four.
04:21Dennis Lillie goes to two hundred and eighty test match wickets.
04:25Larkins goes back to the pavilion.
04:38Brings Chris Taveret to take strike.
05:06Last ball of Brights over.
05:11And he's off the mark too.
05:15Not in a spectacular fashion, but it's always a relief to
05:20get the first runs in a test match in England.
05:32Great attempt that at the slip catch.
05:35Outside edge. Jeff Boycott.
05:38And mid the diving bodies. Terry Alderman was the
05:43second slip fielder.
05:46And this delivery slanted across Jeff Boycott.
05:51In the end, a little bit wide to play at and that definitely
05:54carried to Terry Alderman.
05:56Great effort. Low down to his left.
06:06That's over pitch, the rare one.
06:08Not hit with any power, but it's pushed very easily through
06:11mid-off to bring Boycott two more runs.
06:18Boycott thirty-nine.
06:27Oh, great shout going up. Is this going to be the first four for
06:30Boycott? No, it's not.
06:33That will certainly be three.
06:41Bob Bull is pretty sure he's not going to be required again today.
06:44And Tony Lewis.
06:52No third man. Willem
06:55recovers and a handsome start. Three runs to
06:59Jeffrey Boycott.
07:03Applause for Jeffrey Boycott, because Jeffrey Boycott has
07:06scored his half century of
07:09138 balls in 180 minutes.
07:23Nicely paced and well-timed.
07:29Willem, the sprinter.
07:32Applause for Willem.
07:39Three runs, Chris Tavare.
07:43Oh, dear.
07:45Well, he couldn't get in like the rest of you, but
07:48maybe he's not all that interested anyway.
07:54Fine shot.
07:57Well, a touch of the crawling curbs about that too.
08:03Applause for Jeffrey Boycott.
08:10Oh, that strikes Boycott, I think, on the shoulder.
08:18I'm OK, says to Rod Marsh, who inquired.
08:23Just watch this very carefully. We couldn't see
08:26quite where this hit Jeff Boycott, but it looked like the
08:29behind. Yes, right off the helmet.
08:39And that's typical Boycott.
08:45But no real force in the shot.
08:49An excellent
08:51bowling by Dennis Lilly after the two short deliveries.
08:55The attempted Yorker well up.
09:06That's a real pleasant shot again, this time off the back foot.
09:09Fairly short from Lilly, but nicely timed by Tavare and
09:12digging in now to show his true Kentish form.
09:16And he's tried again and he's gone and caught behind.
09:19Just Tavare not waiting for the umpires.
09:21This is new. He got a little outside edge.
09:24So just when he was really running to something like his
09:26true form, great pity that Tavare should go.
09:29He's on twenty-four as he walks back,
09:32which leaves England now on one hundred and thirty-one for two.
09:38And in the box,
09:40And in the book once more, caught Marsh for Lilly.
09:52And he's almost chinned him that time, I think. Yes, he has.
09:56That's the third time he's taken one on the helmet, one on the
09:58chest and the previous over from Lilly.
10:02That seemed to catch him a glancing blow
10:04on about the third time.
10:07That seemed to catch him a glancing blow on about the
10:10cheek and chin and boycott doesn't look terribly
10:13unhappy about it.
10:25Seventy-one to boycott and that's seventy-one so far
10:29without a boundary.
10:31There have been innings played in first-class cricket
10:35centuries made.
10:38With no boundary scored.
10:40I don't know of any instance in a test match actually.
10:44But certainly it's happened a couple of times in
10:46or a number of times in first-class matches.
10:54No third man.
10:58In a fielding position that's gone out of fashion
11:00and produces so many runs for the batsmen these days.
11:06That's the first boundary for boycott.
11:21Statisticians can put away their pencils.
11:25Boycott's gone to seventy-six.
11:35He's going to get away with it.
11:46The one he has decided to try and pull was
11:49well outside the off stump.
11:51Which made it very difficult.
11:53He's changed his mind halfway through the shot.
11:57As Graham Wood did.
12:01But Mike Gatting's got away with it.
12:03Just flew a little bit too far.
12:15He looked for a moment as though he was going to go under
12:17that as well.
12:19Of all the people I wouldn't have thought he'd do that.
12:21It's Mike Gatting. I mean he's been a fine player of quick
12:24bowling. Very, very gutsy.
12:26And he's certainly not going to go under that.
12:29Very, very gutsy. And he's thought about ducking,
12:32but he's just kept his eye on it long enough.
12:35Well, he's just got himself in a tangle.
12:38He'll have to get that sorted out.
12:42Past the timed and the placing was even better.
12:56Fifty stand comes up now for Boycott and Gatting.
13:03One eighty-one for two.
13:07And Whitney is going to come
13:11around the wicket to him.
13:17You don't see too many inexperienced young test bowlers
13:21doing that.
13:22Be interested to see where he finishes up running
13:25after he's let go of the ball.
13:30And I think we've got the answer to that straight away
13:34because he ran right down the line of middle stump.
13:39Absolutely right on the middle.
13:43Three paces he went down.
13:46And you watch this.
13:48Dear me.
13:50Watch the follow through.
13:51And look at that.
13:53My goodness me.
13:55He wouldn't have got an LB.
13:57His Dickie Bird couldn't have seen it.
14:01Well, I like the pained expression on Dickie Bird's face.
14:05Well, here's Whitney again.
14:11I don't think it's going to work for a young lad
14:13who hasn't had enough practice of doing it.
14:18As soon as he stops following through properly,
14:21he's going to be all over the place with line and length.
14:26Good sweep.
14:31Beaten Whitney down on the boundary.
14:32That was a good shot from Jeff Boycott.
14:35And he goes to ninety-five.
14:38Nice, fine sweep.
14:41One ninety-six for two.
14:48Good shot.
14:52Good shot.
14:54There's no third man there.
14:56It's more and more these days.
15:00It becomes just a matter of giving away runs to the opposition.
15:04Two hundred comes up for England for the loss of two wickets.
15:07Larkins and Teveret.
15:10And Gatling goes to thirty-two.
15:12Looks a different player after lunch.
15:22Another sweep, another four.
15:27Oh, great save, but it still goes under the rope.
15:30And Boycott gets his hundred.
15:33A marvellous attempt by Whitney to stop it.
15:36And applause from all the Australians now.
15:39For Jeffrey Boycott's hundred.
15:42Thirty-three to Gatling. It's two hundred and six for two.
15:47Jeffrey Boycott has hit his century from two hundred and forty-three balls.
15:52It took him three hundred and twenty-eight minutes.
15:55And there are only three fours in it.
16:00His twenty-first test century and his seventh against Australia.
16:06There's another one.
16:17Boycott not off the middle of the bat, but good luck.
16:36It's in the air down to third man of all places.
16:39Full toss outside leg stump.
16:51And this is quite a high full toss.
16:53And I don't think Mike Gatling picked it up terribly well.
16:56He should have had a paddle at it.
16:58Got a top edge and it went straight over first slip.
17:07Gatling plays the same shot, but with more strength, more
17:11quick at the bat.
17:15And he takes two.
17:21Applause for the one hundred partnership.
17:25Jeffrey Boycott and Mike Gatling.
17:29Came together with a score at one hundred and thirty-one.
17:36Off the middle of the bat.
17:39And away.
17:43Four runs to Mike Gatling. Mike Gatling's
17:46fiftieth.
17:49Applause for the half century, his third half century of this
17:52Test Match Series.
18:07And it's taken him one hundred and fifty-two minutes.
18:13A new ball in first ball. Yes.
18:16A new ball. Error of judgment again.
18:23And Lillard strikes. He's now taken all three wickets.
18:27One in each spell and he was rather delighted with that.
18:30Thought it was going to be the outswinger. It completely
18:33Completely fooled Mike Gatling.
18:36Offering no shot. The ball nicked back.
18:43Briel is first look at Alderman today.
18:51And he's gone. Yes. Beautifully taken a third slip.
18:57Another tragic failure here for Mike Briel.
19:01Out without opening his account.
19:04England slumping away to two forty-eight.
19:07And now for the loss of four wickets.
19:10And now for the loss of four wickets.
19:30And that's hedged away and he's gone for nought for Paul Parker
19:33in his first Test Match.
19:35And another triumphant spell here by Alderman.
19:38Missing Briel for nought. Paul Parker just a couple of balls
19:41and he's gone.
19:42Also caught in the slip. Similar sort of shot.
19:45Immense disappointment for this promising
19:48young Sussex cricketer. Two forty-eight for five now.
19:53So and he's dropped him.
19:55Well, this could really have been tragedy there. Outside edge
19:58straight in the first slip's hands. Down it goes.
20:02And the man they really want to see the back of, Boycott remains.
20:05In fact, picks up two more runs.
20:08Takes it on to two hundred and fifty.
20:11And the man they really want to see the back of, Boycott remains.
20:14And the man they really want to see the back of, Boycott remains.
20:17Takes it on to two hundred and fifty.
20:20Takes it on to two hundred and fifty.
20:29And there is a relatively simple chance to slip.
20:35Alderman to both of them.
20:39Both of them away. Full flow of the bat.
20:42Well and giving chase. Will certainly pull it up inside the ropes.
20:47And both of them running well there. He's made it into three.
20:50Forey and Botham.
21:08And he's gone. That's off the edge.
21:11And Lily strikes. Botham goes.
21:18That's a beautiful shot.
21:21Perfectly timed shot. Square on the lake side.
21:24And also taken in past a thousand runs for the season.
21:29And that's a feat he's accomplished now for nineteen consecutive seasons.
21:33I doubt very much whether he's had to wait till the end of August
21:37or very many of those occasions to do it.
21:40Really a beautiful shot. Everything right.
21:43In position.
21:48Well, it's a fair whack to cross the boundary rope.
22:11And this shows what a good wicket it is.
22:14It wasn't really half-volley.
22:16And Alan Knott striking it on the up.
22:19And timing it beautifully.
22:22And it just made the long off boundary.
22:29Another handsome shot and down to that vacant third man boundary.
22:35Four more to Knott.
22:37Two eighty-eight for six. The England score.
22:50Oh, what a fantastic catch by Graham Yallop.
22:54A magnificent catch.
22:57High to the right hand.
23:05Celebration. Congratulations for Graham Yallop.
23:11Geoffrey Boycott has gone.
23:14One hundred and thirty-seven runs. Geoffrey Boycott scored.
23:17And England two ninety-three for seven.
23:23And a fine innings by Geoff Boycott.
23:26He's played better and better as he's gone on.
23:30And that for him, England would have been in dreadful trouble.