Boycott Already Proving His Worth

Boycott the Player
By JMB
November 1 2006

Geoff Boycott's involvement in Yorkshire County Cricket Club's Managment Board since March 2006 can only be good for the county. A man who has not been shy of controversy in the past is now central to Yorkshire's plans for future success.

Boycott has already proved his worth by recommending Pakistani batsmen Younis Khan to the county and being the brains behind the ingenious way Younis will be paid. It was the former Yorkshire and England batsman who suggested that the club should liaise with the ethnic business community to see if they were willing to provide funding for Younis' move. This has resulted in generous sponsorship from ABDN (The Minority Ethnic Enterprise Network) many of whose members come from the Bradford area.

Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan has publicly thanked Boycott for his role in bringing Younis to Yorkshire for the 2007 season. Regan has said "Without Geoffrey's invaluable assistance we would not have been able to make the deal. It was through his contacts I was able to get in touch with Younis. Geoffrey provided us with a list of players and the top batsman on the list was Younis Khan. A lot of people will be unaware of the contribution which Geoffrey has made towards securing Younis' services - the other members of the board and myself are extremely grateful to him."

Boycott has in the past been heavily involved as a batting coach to the Pakistan test side and his contacts around the Asian cricketing world and his wide knowledge of the game are far better used than disgarded. It was these contacts in Pakistan that helped to persuade Younis to head to Headingley.