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. The press speculated on his loss of form, the need to organise his 1975 Benefit Year and a fear of Dennis Lillee, though the Australian fast bowler had not yet returned to cricket after his back injury. Boycott was later accused of cowardice, his many critics saying that he had avoided playing the Australian and West Indian teams of 1974-76 because of their fast bowlers, but no one in the England camp had any idea that Lillee and Thomson would be such a threat until the First Test. Illingworth later said that Boycott was the only England batsmen with the technique to face Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson and it was generally agreed that his loss was a blow to the touring team's chances.