Famous Cricketers No 69 - G. Boycott

1977 This was a season of notable landmarks and records for Boycott. During it he passed his 30,000th run in first-class cricket, scored his hundredth hundred and returned in triumph to an Ashes winning England team. His first hundred of the season, 139 not out against Somerset, was made in his ninth first-class match, but this slow start was partly due to a wet early summer. In Yorkshire’s match against the Australians, in early July, Boycott made 103 in the second innings and then added a further five hundreds in his next six matches, two of these in Test matches. At the age of 36, Boycott was recalled to the England team for the third Test against Australia at Trent Bridge. He was involved in running out Randall on his home ground, but finished the match with scores of 107 and 80 not out to help England to a seven wicket victory. His first innings stand of 215 with Alan Knott equalled the record England sixth wicket partnership against Australia. He had the rare distinction of batting on all five days of this match. He scored 104 in his next match, against Warwickshire, leaving himself the opportunity of scoring his hundredth hundred against Australia on his home ground, Headingley. Almost inevitably, it seemed, he duly became the first player to accomplish this feat in a Test match. A packed Yorkshire crowd saluted this achievement and watched Boycott take his score on to 191, the highest by an Englishman against Australia at Headingley. England won the match by an innings and regained the Ashes with their third successive win of the series. Boycott finished the Test series with 442 runs at an average of 147.33. Own Team O M R W Opp Ct Total Total 374. Yorkshire v Cambridge University, Fenner’s, April 27, 28, 29 (Yorkshire won by an innings and 166 runs) b C.S.Bannister 59 381 164 51 1 375. Yorkshire v Derbyshire, Chesterfield, May 7, (9), (10) (Match drawn) 82-2 376. Yorkshire v Northamptonshire, Northampton, May 11, (12), 13 (Match drawn) lbw b Sarfraz Nawaz 0 113-6 235 1 377. Yorkshire v Surrey, Bramall Lane, May 18, 19, 20 (Yorkshire won by an innings and 8 runs) c J.H.Edrich b R.D.Jackman 16 279 171 100 378. Yorkshire v Northamptonshire, Bradford, May 25, 26, 27 (Yorkshire won by six wickets) lbw b J.C.J.Dye 70 277 186 1 st G.Sharp b B.S.Bedi 74 213-4 303-6d 379. Yorkshire v Glamorgan, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, May 28, 30, 31 (Yorkshire won by ten wickets) lbw b T.W.Cartwright 39 293 - - - - 149 not out 24 32-0 3 2 1 0 172 380. Yorkshire v Lancashire, Old Trafford, June 4, (6), 7 (Match drawn) b C.E.H.Croft 0 65-6d 270-4 381. Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire, Headingley, June (11), (13), 14 (Match drawn) not out 32 52-0 1 0 5 0 232-5d 382. Yorkshire v Somerset, Harrogate, June 18, 20, 21 (Yorkshire won by four wickets) not out 139 275-7d 280-9 c P.A.Slocombe b D.Breakwell 60 152-6 143 383. Yorkshire v Warwickshire, Bradford, June 25, (27), (28) (Match drawn) c G.W.Humpage b S.J.Rouse14 28-3 330-5 384. Yorkshire v Australians, Scarborough, July 2, 3, 4 (Match drawn) lbw b M.H.N.Walker 0 75 186 lbw b R.J.Bright 103 233-5 215-7d 1 385. Yorkshire v Middlesex, Lord’s, July 6, 7, 8 (Match drawn) c I.J.Gould b P.H.Edmonds 117 244-4 256 c M.W.Gatting b J.E.Emburey 54 219-7 269-6d 2 386. Yorkshire v Nottinghamshire, Trent Bridge, July 9, 11, 12 (Yorkshire won by five wickets) c B.N.French b C.E.B.Rice 13 200 279-8 1 run out 154 323-5 243-1d 387. Yorkshire v Kent, Folkestone, July 23, 25, 26 (Kent won by six wickets) c G.S.Clinton b J.N.Shepherd 9 236 268 37