 Geoff Boycott was a dedicated if charmless opening batsman who had made 657 runs (93.85) in the 1970-71 Ashes series, but was an awkward tourist who had argued with the Australian umpires.He was named in the touring squad, but was unhappy that he had been dropped for most of the summer and believed that he should have been made England captain instead of Denness.As a result, he announced that he was unavailable for personal reasons and remained in self-imposed exile until 1977.