The Ashes 2023

Aakash Chopra talks about what is next for ‘Bazball’ in Ashes 2023

England lost to Australia by 43 runs and now are trailing Australia by 2-0 in the Ashes. Bazball has not had the greatest of starts as Australia have deflected all of England’s moves so far. The Three Lions suffered a batting collapse in the first innings and lost their last six wickets for just 47 runs at Lords. The way England folded up could be the reason behind their loss at Lords in the second Test.

Aakash Chopra also shared his two cents on Bazball and said that he was not sure whether the approach could be continued by England in the remaining three games. England also had lost a closely fought Test at Edgbaston were Australia won by 2 wickets with skipper Pat Cummins hitting the winning runs. “What about Bazball now? England are 2-0 down. Will they review their game plan? Where is Bazball going? I feel this team’s bowling is slightly ordinary. It is not up to the level of cricket that they want to play.” Chopra said on his YouTube channel.

Usman Khawaja is the flag bearer of the Australian philosophy at the moment -Aakash Chopra

“It is a battle between philosophies. There is an entertaining brand of cricket that England want to play and then there is methodical cricket that Australia want to play.” Chopra also cited the example of Usman Khawaja who is playing a conventional brand of  Test cricket but still thriving and scoring runs. “Usman Khawaja is probably the flag bearer of that, he has played the most deliveries but has the least strike rate. It is not competitive, but it is extremely effective. That’s what he is trying to do.”

Khawaja has had a great Ashes series so far. The 36-year-old has amassed 300 runs in four games so far at an average of 75 and at a strike rate of 38.70. The former India cricketer went on to add that in the battle of approaches, it is clear that the conventional approach is yielding good results at present.