Legendary England has beens rip into brainless Bazball
Justin Chadwick |
A raft of legendary “has beens” have taken aim at England and their brainless Bazball tactics in the wake of the tourists’ insipid two-day implosion in the series-opening Ashes clash in Perth.
But England coach Brendon McCullum remains defiant, declaring his team won’t be changing their “blueprint” despite blowing a winning position on the way to the crushing eight-wicket loss.
England lost the opening battle on the back of two calamitous batting collapses and Travis Head striking the equal sixth-fastest century in Test history.
McCullum’s men lost 5-12 late in the first innings to be bowled out for 172 on day one.
They regained the advantage after skittling Australia for 132 early on day two, and England were on track for a big lead after cruising to 1-65 in their second innings.
But a collapse of 5-23 brought about their undoing, with their Bazball approach backfiring as Australia roared back into the contest.
The hosts’ victory target of 205 was a walk in the park courtesy of Head, who reached his century in just 69 balls and finished with 123 off 83 deliveries.
England’s preparation for the series – which consisted of a sole three-day warm-up match on a lifeless wicket at Lilac Hill – was widely panned by some of the country’s greatest cricketers.
Stokes hit back at those greats by calling them “has beens”.
Those same legends were lining up thick and fast to lay into the team following the hapless loss in Perth.
“Before this series started Ben Stokes told the world that any ex-players who criticised England or had a different opinion were “has beens” because Test cricket had changed and the past was irrelevant,” England Test legend Geoffrey Boycott wrote in The Telegraph.
“Well, from this has been the message is simple: when you keep throwing away Test matches by doing the same stupid things it is impossible to take you seriously.
“They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity.
“It is simple. Brainless batting and bowling lost England the match.”
Former England Test captain Michael Vaughan feels the nature of the loss will leave some scars.
“This is going to hurt England, it’s going to damage them I think,” Vaughan told Kayo.
“Ben Stokes won’t really understand what’s happened.
“They have the tools to be really competitive, but you can’t be competitive without brains.”
But McCullum is standing firm by England’s Bazball tactics, adamant it’s the best path forward for the team.
“To be honest I thought 200 was a good score, I thought it was a very defendable score,” McCullum told BBC Sport.
“We’ve got some work to do, no doubt. But one thing we won’t be changing is our blueprint, we’ll stay true to that.”
Former England captain Alastair Cook is urging the team’s frontline players to feature in the upcoming two-day, day-night fixture against a Prime Minister XI outfit in Canberra, starting on November 29, rather than field a second XI side.
The day-night Ashes Test at the Gabba begins on December 4.
Stokes defended his team’s aggressive approach in Perth, believing it proved to be the best way to handle the tricky conditions.
“The guys who had success out on the middle were the ones who were brave enough to take the bowlers on and get them off their length,” Stokes said.
“Anyone who tried to stay around there and tried to occupy the crease with a lot of time didn’t seem to have too much success.”
Stokes has told his team to embrace the pain of the two-day defeat.
But he doesn’t want them to hold on to the disappointment for long, saying they can’t afford to carry baggage into Brisbane.
AAP
