Boycott slams substandard Bermuda pitches

Geoffrey Boycott has said Bermuda needs a complete overhaul of its sporting structure if cricket on the island is to improve.

Visiting for a golf tournament, he said the existing government policy on banning imports of soil left Bermuda’s cricketers suffering on below-par pitches.

“The soil you have is a reddish soil that crumbles too easily. I’ve already spoken to the Minister for Sport . The BCB needs to get them on board to let them bring in a different soil. You need to get a better type of soil that binds because the 22 yards we play on is everything. It's everything, it dictates what the ball does, how it reacts, it dictates the make-up of the team, do you bat first, bat second, are people going to be able to apply their skill or not.

“Ask golfers if they can putt on bumpy greens, they wouldn’t putt so bloody good then would they. Ask those snooker players, who have snooker tables that are spirit level perfect, ask them if they could pot the ball on a bumpy table.

“It’s the same with cricket, it’s grass it’s not artificial, there is a great skill, a great knowledge, that goes into preparing really good pitches that give everybody, batsman and bowler, a fair chance to express their skills.”