According to former England captain Michael Vaughan, the Three Lions should reconsider their extremely aggressive “Bazball” style of Test cricket since it hasn’t produced the expected outcomes. The former cricket player turned analyst said that England has not advanced to the World Test Championship final, failed to recapture the Ashes twice, and has not been able to defeat India at home.
In the fifth and final Ashes Test in Sydney, England is in terrible shape. With two wickets remaining at the conclusion of day 4, England, who have already lost the series, are facing yet another loss as they lead by just 119 runs. On Thursday, January 8, the final day of the fifth Test, Australia hopes to extend their series lead from 3-1 to 4-1.
“Because they haven’t won the major series, England’s “Bazball approach,” which is an extremely dangerous strategy with the bat in hand, hasn’t worked. India has not been defeated by them. Australia has not been defeated by them. “They’re not even close to a World Test Championship final, and they’ve obviously lost another Ashes series,” Vaughan told Reuters.
“So it’s acceptance from the management, the leadership group and the ECB that things need to change,” he stated.
The former Yorkshire player said that England should take inspiration from Joe Root’s 160 runs in the first innings and Jacob Bethell’s calm tonne in the second innings.
“That’s the tempo of Test match batting, you just play the ball on merit,” Vaughan stated. “They’re all naturally gifted players and they’re going to score runs, but the really high-risk way of playing, I’m afraid, hasn’t worked,” Vaughan said.
After the tour, I hope there will be conversations to find out where everyone stands: Vaughan
The contract of England’s head coach, Brendon McCullum, expires at the end of 2027. Vaughan emphasised that it might not be necessary to change staff at this time. Rather, the 51-year-old thinks that the attitude and strategy must shift.
“I hope that after the trip, there will be conversations to find out where everyone stands. The team must adapt if they hope to remain together. Changing is not the responsibility of everyone else. Acceptance rests with the leadership group, Vaughan said.
“In sports, stubbornness is great, but if you believe you’re always doing it correctly, it can also be dangerous. At the ECB level, candid discussions are required regarding whether they can adapt and proceed based on the lessons learnt from this tour,” he continued.
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