After the completion of a thrilling Test series between India and England, much of the discussion continues to orbit around England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ philosophy, which wasn’t at full display this summer. The Indian bowlers kept the English batters in check, and that was the reason behind the series finishing 2-2 after five games.
However, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has been impressed by Bazball so far, and has voiced his admiration for England's fearless style, even as the Ashes loom large later this year. He believes that the newest version of Bazball is much more refined and since many of their batters now have experience of batting in Down Under, he expects a better performance from the Ben Stokes-led side.
“I’m as Aussie as anyone and I love watching the way they [England] play. The Aussies embraced it and learnt about it the last time they were here. They’ll have an understanding now of what is a slightly more refined version of what England started a few years ago,” Ponting told The Times.
“I think they can [bat aggressively in Australia], and they will definitely try. It’s the way they naturally play and it’s the way the coaches and captain want them to play. It’s the way they need to play — it just sets up everything for England, putting immediate pressure back on the bowlers. You [the fielding side] have to adapt really quickly. They probably hold the key in Australia. If they can bat really well at the top, and set things up, that will give them a good chance in the series,” he added.
Ponting explains how Bazball is refined
While Bazball has invited criticism for potentially undermining the traditional balance between bat and ball, often requiring flat, lifeless pitches that rob bowlers of assistance, Ponting believes England's batting strategy has matured and evolved since its inception.
“When it first started, it looked like Joe [Root] got carried away a bit. He changed his game. He’s gone back to playing normally. Ollie Pope is naturally aggressive and scores pretty quickly. Stokes might have the lowest strike rate of all the batters since it began [he does]. [Ben] Duckett and [Zak] Crawley are the two leading the way. So there’s been some refinement, and against the best teams they needed it,” Ponting said.