Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

Good scores are valuable, but centuries stick in the mind. There are influential people who might not notice a good innings of 60 or 70, but they will react if you get a hundred.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

During the time I didn't play for England, they were losing Test matches, and the Yorkshire committee were telling me that I should be batting for my country. Then, when I decided to make myself available to play for England again in 1977, and Yorkshire lost a couple of matches in my absence, they criticised me for not being there.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

If Trescothick had tried to get me off the field when batting well, I'd have hit him with my bat.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

I don't think anybody can totally change what they are. I'd always been a strident individual, but cancer does smooth off a lot of the edges. I have been lucky to have survived an extra 12 years of my life with my wife and daughter.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

I agree that my single-minded approach was a failing in life, but if I upset people, it was never intentional - it was just the unfortunate result of a burning desire to get the best out of myself and achieve as much as possible.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

'Boycott caused all the trouble,' they say, as if I could have canvassed all those people personally to take a stand in 1983. Nonsense! The committee were the ones with the power to make the decisions, not me. They started the unrest, they did the sackings, and they reaped what they sowed.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

The difference between a score in the 90s and a century is often reflected as the difference between failure and success. It may be illogical, but in cricket, a century has its own magic.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

I'd love to see pitches start very dry all over the world, which is good for batting but means there will be turn - a cricket match without spinners is like a chess match without two important pieces - a less interesting game.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

When I was playing the game we never had the benefit of TV or video to analyse our techniques or look at faults, we depended on other cricketers to watch us and then tell us what they thought we were doing wrong.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

I think England will win a Test. My concern is Australia will probably win two.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

I've known people with exceptional talent - and some have wasted it. Ambition spurs a man on.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

Since I had cancer I've realised that every day is a bonus.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

Unlike cricket, where I reached the top solely down to my own efforts, cancer was not a one-man battle. This time, I couldn't have done it on my own. Without the support and bullying encouragement of my wife Rachael, I would not be here now.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

Until you've had depression I don't think you're qualified to talk about it.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

I played football for Leeds United under-18s, but at 17 my eyes started to go and I had to wear glasses. The football had to go - there were no contact lenses in 1957.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

Once I got cancer of the tongue and throat, I realised that stress is a killer and I had to try and get stress out of my life.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

We've got to get the public back into watching Test matches - speeding up the game with innovation is one way forward.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

The contribution of Anthony William Greig to English cricket has been underestimated because of his allegiance to Kerry Packer and his choice to recruit players for World Series Cricket while still the England captain. His critics hold that as a black mark against him, which rules out anything else he may have done.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

Emma wasn't bothered about the fact that I was a 'celebrity', held in high esteem by millions of cricket fans around the world. As far as she was concerned, I was just her dad, and she believed that role should take priority over anything else.

Geoffrey Boycott
Geoffrey Boycott

A lot of wasted energy in my life has been spent on sorting out problems and issues at Yorkshire cricket. Of course, I know I made mistakes along the way, but I care passionately about the club - I always have done and always will.