Geoff Boycott's exile ended by Channel 4

Five years after being unceremoniously axed from British television, Geoff Boycott has been brought in from the cold by Channel 4 and will join their commentary line-up for next summer's tours by New Zealand and West Indies.

Boycott was ostracised by the British media following a high-profile court case in France in 1998, although he continued to work regularly overseas. In 2002 he was diagnosed as having throat cancer, which he successfully fought, and made a few low-key guest appearances for Channel 4 last summer.

Announcing the news, David Kerr, Channel 4's head of sport, told The Guardian: "Geoff Boycott is one of the great voices of cricket and we are very happy to be bringing him back to the commentary box. He has strong opinions informed by a career playing cricket at the highest level and a unique insight into the game of cricket.

"After Geoffrey commentated on the C&G final this summer we had a very positive response from viewers and we wanted to give them the chance to hear his thoughts over the coming summer."

Boycott remains one of the most popular media analysts, renowned for his blunt comments.