Sir Geoffrey Boycott has thanked everyone who sent messages of goodwill and support over the last couple of difficult weeks. He also thanked his wife and said I am still alive here.
“I was recuperating at home from the operation and felt pretty good at first but overnight I became delirious, was not talking properly, and looked awful. We had a pulse oximeter at home which she put on my finger and it recorded my blood oxygen level at 35 per cent. That is when she knew there was a major problem and called an ambulance. I was rushed back in, put on oxygen, and diagnosed with pneumonia.
It has knocked hell out of me and if Rachael had not acted so quickly I am pretty sure I would not have made it through the night. She saved my life, no doubt about that.
The treatment was lying in bed wearing an oxygen mask, taking antibiotics on a drip, coughing up, and being fed through a tube in my nose. Not moving for days really sapped my energy. I felt very weak but once the pneumonia was under control, my breathing improved and I felt better.
The staff were fabulous. I know the NHS is short of money but at Wythenshawe Hospital they were amazing. They’re all underpaid and overworked, the quality of equipment is not always the best but you cannot fault the care and attention. The staff were warm, friendly, and helpful all the time.
There were some lovely nurses from Chennai, Nigeria, and all over the world. I want to thank them for their professionalism in very difficult circumstances. They only have to make one mistake, putting a feeding tube into my lungs and not my stomach and I could be dead. What dedication they have.
For me to leave the hospital the feeding tube has been moved directly into my stomach. It is a bit uncomfortable but it will allow my throat to heal. All my food, drinks and medication goes through that tube. Rachael is in charge of what goes in three or four times a day and she says I have to be nice to her with no grumpiness. She says I am going to have to practice being nice!
Now I just need to get my strength back, and slowly get out and about around the house and in the garden. I want to get some fresh air in my lungs. I will be coughing up stuff for a while yet but hopefully, the air outside will help the healing process.
He spoke about the test match from Edgbaston and said it was a total mismatch. It is not good for cricket when Test matches are only three days and people who have bought tickets are left disappointed because they planned a day out only for the game to end early.
Recently, during the West Indies tour of England, he criticized England players for their underwhelming performance in recent days. His comments have come after England’s T20 World Cup 2024 title.
I managed to watch the Test match from Edgbaston because my daughter Emma set up Sky Sports on my computer. It is such a shame it was a total mismatch. It is not good for cricket when Test matches only last three days and people who have bought tickets are left disappointed because they planned a day out only for the game to end early.
They don’t care about getting their money back. They just want to get behind our national team and have a day at the cricket, which for most will be their only chance to see England in the flesh this year. It does more harm than good to not have cricket on the weekend such as when the Lord’s Test finished on Friday.
It is not England’s fault the West Indies were poor. All they can do is win and get the country behind them. Ideally, I would have liked to see them give a game to another young bowler. I liked Gus Atkinson. He has pace and aggression. He doesn’t float it up there – he hits the deck hard which is why he gets wickets.
Chris Woakes is a lovely lad and a good bowler in English conditions but he is not going to do well in Australia. A Matt Potts or Dillon Pennington getting a game and doing well against the West Indies would have topped it all off.
The biggest plus was Mark Wood coming through a lot of express bowling fully fit. We know he can bowl fast and make people duck and weave. He broke Kevin Sinclair’s arm and bowled some really nasty, fast stuff. It is great to watch but none of it matters if he doesn’t take any wickets. All the truly great fast bowlers make batsmen hop around but take wickets.
That is why it was so pleasing to see Wood take wickets at Edgbaston bowling fast reverse swing. It was the last innings of the series but because he stayed fit and strong for long enough, he reaped his rewards. Now, England just needs to look after him. Don’t bowl him into the ground like they did with Jofra Archer. Wood is no good to himself or England if he is not fit.
The cricket made me feel better but so did the support from family, friends, and all over the world. We had messages from Australia, India, New Zealand, Pakistan. and South Africa. Everywhere. David Lloyd, Michael Vaughan, Graham Gooch Andrew Flintoff, Darren Lehman, and Geoff Miller – just to name a few – all got in touch. Thank you to them.
It made me think. A lot of my contemporaries are gone now: Bob Woolmer, John Edrich, Raymond Illingworth, Graham Roope, Bob Willis, Mike Hendrick, Graham Dilley, Brian Luckhurst and Derek Underwood. We lost quite a few to cancer. It can hit you from anywhere and at any time.
I am lucky. I am still here, and my job now is to get stronger over the next few weeks,” concluded Geoffrey Boycott.
