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In his regular “Bowl at Boycs” slot on leading cricket website www.espncricinfo.com on Tuesday, Boycott suggests the keenly-anticipated three-Test series is “too tight to call”, venturing that “the bowling and batting is fairly equal”.
But he believes that where England “do score” is in the spin department.
“Graeme Swann (their off-spinner) is a superb bowler ... much better than Tahir. I wouldn’t lose any sleep if I were playing Imran Tahir, and I’m 70.”
Both bowlers are 33, although Swann has a clear edge in Test experience, boasting 188 wickets at an average of 28.57 from 44 outings, compared to Pakistan-born Tahir’s mere seven caps since qualifying for the Proteas (18 wickets at 37.05).
Referring to Mark Boucher’s sudden, injury-enforced retirement through his freak eye injury, Boycott said: “You don’t want your career to end like that. It was one in a million ... it’s like walking down the street and one person gets hit by a red bus.
“That’s what happened to Boucher – it’s actually one in zillions and he’s just been terribly, sadly unlucky.
“AB de Villiers will keep wicket all right, because he’s been doing it in 50-overs cricket. But the extra tiredness, mental and physical (in Tests) ... it is tough if you don’t do it regularly.
“We know he is a super batsman, but when he does six and a half hours (behind the stumps), will it be more tiring mentally to him?”
