Australia Ashes star David Warner has mocked England over their Bazball cricket after suggesting he is yet to witness their iconic style of play during this year’s series. Australia retained The Ashes at the weekend after securing a draw in the fourth Test when rain washed away the final day of play at Old Trafford on Sunday.
The Bazball term was coined last year following the appointment of England’s Test head coach Brendon McCullum, who is nicknamed Baz. With Ben Stokes leading his country as Test captain, the side have endeavoured to play exciting, attacking cricket with an emphasis on entertaining the masses.
But Warner is still wondering when the Bazball cricket will make an appearance. “I haven’t really seen Bazball yet to be honest,” the 36-year-old said ahead of the fifth Test at the Oval. “They are playing the way they have been playing and I haven’t really seen much of it from them.”
Opening batsman Warner has made 201 runs during the first four Tests of this year’s Ashes and helped his country win the encounters at Edgbaston and Lord’s. And the veteran admits he is happy with his performances this year after averaging under 10 during the series in 2019.
“I feel like I’m in a good space, contributed well, and as a batting unit we’re all about partnerships, and I think the partnerships that we’ve had in key moments of this series have actually worked very well for us as a team,” he added.
England’s Bazball approach may have won them a whole host of plaudits over the last few months – but the style of play appears to have come at a cost during the Ashes series. And cricket great Sir Geoffrey Boycott took aim at the tactics earlier this summer.
“England have got carried away with Bazball and seem to think entertaining is more important than winning,” the 82-year-old wrote in The Telegraph. “By all means entertain – but cricket is like chess. There are moments when you need to defend. Sometimes you need to be patient and accept it.
“Don’t just attack, attack, attack. England need a bit of common sense and pragmatism. That is all that is required. If England are not playing to win then these Ashes Tests are not that important. They are only exhibition matches. They have got it back to front. It is not about entertaining and then winning. It is about winning first.”
