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Ashes 2023 | 'Bazball Against Australian Attack? Forget It' - Sunil Gavaskar

image-ljwfd8m2Mitchell Starc almost swung the Headingley Test back in Australia's favour

Former Indian cricket cricketer, Sunil Gavaskar, has called for England to abandon their 'Bazball' strategy against Australia, believing it to be ill-suited to the rigours of Test cricket.


Sunil Gavaskar questions England's Bazball tactic

Gavaskar’s comments came after England's victory in the third Test at Headingley, despite their aggressive approach, popularly known as 'Bazball', almost leading to their downfall. According to the Indian veteran, such an aggressive strategy is unfit for tests against high-quality teams like Australia.

The Ashes series currently stands 2-1 in favour of Australia, despite England's spirited comeback in the rain-marred third Test at Headingley. Earlier in the match, England's strategy had faced severe backlash after a batting collapse, which many attributed to their overly aggressive style.

Gavaskar penned his thoughts in his column for 'Mid-day', where he recommended England to reserve their aggressive batting style for teams with a weaker bowling attack. The Indian cricket legend suggested that England's 'Bazball' approach, which had proven successful against lesser bowling attacks, would fail when faced with Australia's robust bowling.

"As for Bazball, forget it. It happened against lesser quality bowling, but against a top-class Australian attack it’s back to good old grinding batting and not T20 shots," wrote Gavaskar.

In Gavaskar's words, the English team should shelve the 'Bazball' approach and revert to more traditional, patient batting strategies, as Test cricket is a completely different format compared to T20.

"Test cricket is after all, Test cricket," concluded Gavaskar.

Despite the recent critique, it is noteworthy that England have enjoyed a successful run employing the aggressive 'Bazball' approach, clinching series victories against New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan in the last year. They also secured a win over India in the rescheduled fifth Test at Edgbaston under Stokes and McCullum's regime.

Meanwhile, the Ashes 2023 will now move to Old Trafford in Manchester. After a nine-day hiatus, the fourth Test will commence on Wednesday, July 19.