Tim Paine agreed that some English players have done well over the past year, but he said that a few nicks or lbws can start to make them question themselves. The exciting Bazball method has helped England beat teams like South Africa, New Zealand, India, and Pakistan. As they try to win back the Ashes at home, they will hope to add their biggest foe, Australia, to the list. The first test between the two teams will take place at Edgbaston.
Tim Paine, who was captain the last time Australia went to England for the Ashes in 2019, gave an interview to the Sydney Morning Herald before the first game of the highly anticipated series. In the interview, he broke down the Bazball plan. The former wicketkeeper and batter gave Australia the advantage and said that England’s “Bazball” plan could fail quickly if the team led by Pat Cummins plays its best cricket.
“I still think that if the Australians get it right and play their best cricket, it (Bazball) could fall apart for England pretty quickly. I do think that Australia has the upper hand. I think England is playing a different style of cricket, and they’re sure of it, but the team looks pretty much the same as it did last year in Australia.
“It will be interesting to see what the Australians do. Do you make fields that are very hard to score on because they’ve shown they can score quickly? Keep your keepers up and put some guys on the boundary to see if England is willing to put their pride aside or if they will keep trying to go hard.
“So, there are some guys there who have had a good year, but the intensity of the Ashes and the attention go up by 100%. Tim Paine said, “All it takes is a nick or two LBWs for some of those guys to start to doubt themselves again.”
If the ball doesn’t move and the pitches don’t help them, I think the Australian hitters can win: Tim Paine
Several stories about the upcoming first Test say that England has asked for fast, flat fields with short boundaries to match their aggressive style. Tim Paine says that this could go wrong for England because the conditions will be more like those in Australia, which will be better for the newly crowned World Test Champions.
“That’s not something I’d do. That sounds too much like the way things are in Australia, and that hasn’t worked for them. I believe that is good for Australia.
“I think the Aussie hitters can do well if the ball doesn’t move and the pitches don’t help them. Still, I’m interested to see what will happen if their hitters fail, because our bowlers have never been put under that kind of pressure.
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