This is a valid point. Brian Close captained Boycott and said he would not pick him in his all-time Yorkshire XI because his reluctance to up the tempo when needed cost the team victories. Close was England captain when Boycott was dropped for slow scoring. Herbert Sutcliffe said Boycott should never have been made Yorkshire captain because of his refusal to declare until he had reached his century. Others, as just mentioned above, praised Boycott for propping up a weak batting side. One of the main reasons Hampshire won the County Championship in 1973 was Richards setting up early declarations with positive batting.I don't really know enough about Boycott in FC though. I've got little issue with his test SR as an opener. 3 day games can turn a lot of innings into quasi ODIs though. Ive got no idea if he played FC to match situation or engaged in average boosting.
First-class averages by country:
Boycott: England 56.74, Australia 54.45, South Africa 51.27, West Indies 69.80, New Zealand 23.60, India 76.60, Pakistan 96.16, Sri Lanka 3.50
Barry Richards: England 50.27, Australia 106.71, South Africa 58.58
Graeme Pollock: England 45.61, Australia 51.12, South Africa 56.28, New Zealand 31.00