“They Won’t Do It In These Conditions – And They Have Done It”: Alastair Cook Backs England’s ‘Bazball’ Approach In Ashes

Former England’s captain Alastair Cook has backed ‘Bazball’ approach of the Ben Stokes-led side for the upcoming Ashes series in June, this new approach of the English team was criticised after their recent defeat against New Zealand in the Test match. While Cook thinks Bazball has worked in different conditions, which the opposition didn’t expect from Brendon Mccullum’s players.

While ‘Bazball’ commonly refers to the style of play by England’s cricket team after the appointment of Mccullum as a head coach.

Alastair Cook thinks ‘Bazball’ will work against Australia in Ashes-

“Can Bazball work this summer? Absolutely, I think they can win.

“Every side who’s come across England have said, ‘Ah, they won’t do it against our bowlers, they won’t do it in these conditions – and they have done it. So just because it’s the Ashes, and we are going up against a very good bowling attack, doesn’t mean they can’t do it,” said Former English cricketer.

Earlier in the NZ Test series, Stokes became the fastest skipper from England to win the 10th longer format game, breaking Michael Vaughan’s record. The left-handed batter Stokes credited Engish cricket after winning the first test match on Kiwi home soil after 15 years, he also asked the media and fans not to refer to their aggressive style as “Bazball” or “Benball.”

“It’s just like they did against that India attack or Pakistan attack – they are going to play that way, and actually it’s very confrontational as an opposition captain because if they do it well and do it at the right times, you don’t know when it’s coming. That’s the great thing about it – it’s not every ball, hacking at it or whatever. It’s just at certain times they take that initiative,”

“If you are skilful enough and good enough at that level, and clear enough in your mind to do it at the right time, it’s a very tough thing to captain against because suddenly, in half an hour or 40 minutes of a Jonny Bairstow burst like we saw at Trent Bridge (against New Zealand), the momentum has shifted. That’s what is so powerful about this way of playing. Talking about it is very different to doing it, but they have delivered so far,” he further added.

While dramatically, the Kiwi side won the second Test match after playing follow-on and won the game by 1 run, the two-match series got levelled up by 1-1. The right-handed pacer Stokes was vice-captaining the ‘poms’ under Joe Root but took full responsibility since Root stepped down in 2020. The stylish left-hander Stokes now has 10 wins out of 13 test matches while captaining his national side.

Glenn McGrath has been full of praise for the England Test team 💪🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 pic.twitter.com/cwYip2NLJm

— England's Barmy Army 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🎺 (@TheBarmyArmy) March 29, 2023

“The way Ben has got his team playing, to win those three games in Pakistan was an extraordinary effort,” he said. How many sides have won three in Pakistan? Even the great sides when you go back in history? ,”

“So to do what they did, in the manner they did it, was extraordinary. The batting was the highlight but the bowling, but it’s hard to take 20 wickets away in all other conditions, and last winter Ben has done an outstanding job. It’s been great to watch. I remember some of the things I said – will the way they play work in certain conditions? And they keep proving us wrong,” stated the left-handed batter.

While Australia beat Pakistan 3-0 in 2002 but the series was played on neutral soil in Sri Lanka and the UAE, earlier, former English skipper, Alastair Cook expressed his disagreement with the current captain, Stokes, as he forced the ‘Black Caps’ to bat again in the second test match.

Whereas, ENG vs AUS ( Ashes), the five test match series will start on July 16, 2023, at Birmingham, while Australia is the current holder of the Ashes trophy as they won the last series by 4-0.

Also read: NZ VS ENG: I Wouldn’t Have Enforced The Follow-On- Alastair Cook On England’s Decision To Impose Follow-On In The Second Test Match