Boycott criticises preparation

FORMER England opener Geoff Boycott yesterday blasted England's lack of preparation for their disastrous tour of Zimbabwe and…

FORMER England opener Geoff Boycott yesterday blasted England's lack of preparation for their disastrous tour of Zimbabwe and questioned whether they had enough team spirit.

"I think the problem is the preparation before we came, I don't think they had enough cricket preparation," the outspoken Yorkshireman told BBC radio after England slumped to their 131 run one day defeat to Zimbabwe in Harare, scoring just 118 in reply to the hosts' 249 for seven.

"I don't call going to Portugal - for a bit of golf and a bit of running about preparation for a winter cricket tour. We are not mentally tough. We do not produce bad cricketers but we have cricketers that seem too often not to perform - to their best capabilities," Boycott charged.