Overview:
When Brendon McCullum took over in 2022, England embraced a bold, high-risk brand of cricket, prioritising fast scoring and unconventional shots.
Ricky Ponting has suggested that England‘s bold ‘Bazball’ approach was specifically designed to win the Ashes on Australian turf. He further accused the English camp of misleading the public about their philosophy and the actual impact it’s having on their results.
In an interview with 7NEWS, Ricky Ponting claimed that England’s aggressive style, led by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes, was always designed with Australian conditions in mind, despite the team’s narrative of it being a long-term transformation.
“This is a team that has been coming together for the past two years, ever since the 2023 Ashes, with this moment in mind . As far as I’m concerned, and knowing Brendon fairly well, ‘Bazball’ was always meant to be a strategy specifically for this one series,” Ponting said.
“Forget everything that’s happened in the last two years, it was all about assembling a team and a playing style that could rise to the challenge and win Test matches in Australia,” he added.
“They’ve managed it just four times in the last 25 years, and now they’ll need to do it at least three more times this summer. I’m really looking forward to seeing how they approach it.”
When Brendon McCullum took over in 2022, England embraced a bold, high-risk brand of cricket, prioritising fast scoring and unconventional shots.
Ricky Ponting believes that after missing out on the 2023 Ashes at home, England have dialled back their aggressive approach.
“I believe it has evolved a bit. Initially, it was far more reckless, but now they seem to be reading the game and identifying key moments much better,” he mentioned.
“I don’t think Joe Root is fully embracing it like he used to, and I feel the same way about Ben Stokes. He’s not as caught up in the whole ‘Bazball’ approach as he was at the start. But their openers are still fully committed, and Ollie Pope is doing his best to buy into it too. That’s why I believe their openers are so crucial.”