Theresa May set out her stall as the Geoffrey Boycott of Prime Ministers today, praising the cricket legend for ‘sticking in there and getting on with the job.’
The premier also made clear her frustration at the ‘robotic’ way she had come across in the election campaign.
The comments came in an interview on BBC Radio’s Test Match Special programme as England played the West Indies at Lords.
Mrs May brought brownies she had baked to a Nigel Slater recipe – but revealed that last time she had brought treats to the programme Boycott had kept her Tupperware.
Theresa May gave an interview on BBC Radio’s Test Match Special programme today as England played the West Indies at Lord’s
Mrs May and husband Philip chatted to Homeland star Damian Lewis at Lord’s today but only saw about 30 minutes of play due to rain
Mr and Mrs May appeared to be struggling with their earphones at one stage
The keen cricket fan was at the match today with husband Philip, and was spotted chatting to Homeland star Damian Lewis.
Mrs May said she remembered admiring Boycott’s cautious style of play in his playing days.
Critics used to jibe that the batsman scored so slowly that his own team would deliberately get him out.
Asked what she liked about him, Mrs May replied: ‘The fact that he stuck in there and got on with the job.’
When presenter Jonathan Agnew suggested that Boycott had been a bit ‘boring’, Mrs May insisted that he had usually managed to ‘get the job done’.
Describing the last time she appeared on the programme, she said she had handed some brownies to Boycott but feared he might have eaten them all.
‘Geoffrey Boycott has still got my Tupperware,’ she added.
The PM also joked that she was good at multitasking because she is a woman.
Mrs May recently caused anxiety on Tory benches by saying she was determined to fight the next general election.
But she stressed today that she did not regret making the pledge, saying she was ‘not a quitter’.
Speaking about the woeful election campaign that saw the Tories lose their overall majority, the PM said she would have liked to meet more voters.
Asked what she liked about Boycott (pictured), Mrs May replied: ‘The fact that he stuck in there and got on with the job.’
Pressed on whether criticism about her leaden delivery had hurt, she insisted: ‘I don’t think I’m in the least robotic.’
Mrs May also sought to shake off comparisons with the UK’s only previous female premier, saying: ‘There was only ever one Margaret Thatcher. I am Theresa May and I do things in my way and the circumstances of the government are different.’
The premier said she had only seen about 30 minutes of play at the Test match today – which has been hit by rain.
She left immediately after the interview to chair a meeting of the government’s Cobra emergency committee about the hurricane damage to British territories in teh Caribbean.