The home side will strive to stay alive in the series while Australia will aim to secure an insurmountable lead by winning the third Test at Headingley
Veteran Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin expressed his views on the consecutive defeats suffered by England in the ongoing Ashes 2023 series. However, Ashwin wholeheartedly supported the approach adopted by the Ben Stokes-led team, known as ‘Bazball’ and stated that he would have respect for the English side if they continue playing with such an attacking mindset. The Three Lions are currently trailing 2-0 against Australia after two Tests.
The Australian team managed to shake the confidence of England as the home side had been confident in their ability to chase down the target of 371 runs but fell short by 43 runs. Contrarily, fans all over the world have criticized the English team’s style of play. In an intriguing piece of advice, Ashwin suggested that even if the home side slightly reduces their overall run rate from scoring over five runs per over, it would still be sufficient to be considered as ‘Bazball’.
“England can continue to play Bazball, but instead of trying to score at 5.5-6 runs per over, they can look to score at 3.5-4 runs per over. Scoring at 4 runs per over is still Bazball,” said Ashwin on his YouTube channel.
Meanwhile, amidst the unfolding of controversies and run-out sagas in the Ashes series, England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum has expressed his confidence in his team’s ability to perform well against Australia in the five-Test match series. Furthermore, McCullum believes that these controversies will serve as much-needed motivation for England to make a comeback in the third Ashes Test.
“If they continue to play Bazball despite the two losses, they have my respect. See this is the cricket they have played and there will be some wins and some losses,as the saying goes, ‘He who wins by the sword, does by the sword.’ If they continue their approach then it will be an incredible balance and they have my backing,” Ashwin concluded.
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The next game is slated to take place at Headingley from July 6. The home side will strive to stay alive in the series while Australia will aim to secure an insurmountable lead by winning the third Test.
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