Being Geoffrey Boycott: A First and Second Hand Account of 108 Caps

by Geoffrey Boycott, Jon Hotten

When the first lockdown came, finding himself without cricket for the first time in his life, Geoffrey Boycott sat down and began to write a retrospective warts-and-all diary of each of his Test match appearances. It is illuminating and unsparing, characterised by Boycott’s astonishing memory, famous forthrightness and unvarnished, sometimes lacerating, honesty. That 100,000 word document forms the basis for Being Geoffrey Boycott, a device that takes the reader inside Geoffrey’s head and back through cricket history, presenting a unique portrait of the internal and external forces that compelled him from a pit village in Yorkshire to the pinnacle of the world game. Now 81 and still one of the most recognisable cricketers England has ever produced, Boycott has teamed up with award-winning author Jon Hotten in this catalogue of his tumultuous time with the national side. Dropped for scoring a slow double hundred, making himself unavailable to play for England for several years, captain for eight seasons of a group of strong, stroppy and extremely talented players at Yorkshire, bringing up his hundredth hundred at Headingley against the Old Enemy, seeing David Gower and Ian Botham emerge as future greats, playing under Mike Brearley in the 1981 Ashes, in this enlightening book Boycott reveals a host of never-before-heard details regarding his peers and his playing days.

402 pages, Kindle Edition

Published January 3, 2023

About the author

Geoffrey Boycott OBE is a former Yorkshire and England cricketer. In a prolific and sometimes controversial playing career from 1962 to 1986, Boycott established himself as one of England's most successful opening batsmen. Since retiring as a player, Boycott has found further success as a cricket commentator.

Reviews

[Nigel Baylem · Rating 4 out of 5]

Much enjoyed, especially the two person joint narrative. Whereas Boycott’s memory is prodigious, it was also good to have his diary interspersed by Jon Hotten’s interpretation of his recollections,

Can myself well remember many of his innings and matches documented, so very relevant to read what his feelings and moods were at those times.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very enjoyable diary of Geoff Boycott’s test career.