For Theresa May the highlight of her trip to India may be the lavish praise she received from the cricket star who was her childhood pinup.
Geoffrey Boycott said the cricket-loving prime minister would do well in her role, comparing her to another female Tory leader. “She’ll be like Margaret Thatcher. She’ll be brilliant. She’s good – she doesn’t need my advice, she’ll be fine.
“She’s got a few more strokes than me,” said Boycott, whose steady and cautious manner on the pitch has been likened to May’s leadership style. “She has views and she’s strong. Life is about integrity and principles – it should be. We want politicians like that with integrity, with principles, with honesty.”
Boycott, the former Yorkshire and England cricketer, made the comments to reporters at a Delhi hotel, where May had arrived for a trade mission to India, before a Test match between the two countries starting in Gujarat on Wednesday.
The prime minister carried an engraved sterling silver cricket bat provided by the English Cricket Board to present to her counterpart, Narendra Modi, during their bilateral meeting.
Boycott also addressed the issue of Brexit, saying he supported the decision for Britain to leave the EU because he wanted the country to be “independent, not run by France and Germany”.
“I want the principle of being ourselves. We’ve always been successful as an island – trade with people but not let them run our lives. Some of the rules from Europe are stupid,” he said.
But he said it meant a challenging period for the country. “She’s got the prime minister job at a very tough juncture in our history, what with the change and all that’s going to happen in the next two or three years. It would be tough for whoever was prime minister.
“I was told by a lad who wrote me a wonderful letter before he died many years ago – a big supporter of mine – that adversity never breaks a good man. She’ll show her mettle, won’t she?”
And he had a word about May’s predecessor, David Cameron: “I need to improve his batting. I liked him. He’s a very personable guy.”
The two prime ministers joked about the cricket clash between their countries with Modi telling May that he hoped she enjoyed the food. He reportedly told her that he had a good cook, but added “we are waiting for another Cook - the captain of your team”.
After the meeting the Indian prime minister concluded his statement by offering his best wishes to the English cricket team. “May the best team win,” he added.
