“It happened against lesser-quality bowling” – Sunil Gavaskar slams Bazball as England go 2-0 behind in Ashes

Former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar has slammed Bazball after England lost the first two Tests in Ashes 2023.

The 73-year-old pointed out that the T20 style of play can’t overcome a quality bowling lineup featuring Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Nathan Lyon. The statement came after Australia beat England by two wickets and 43 runs, respectively, in the ongoing five-match series.

In his column for Mid-Day, Sunil Gavaskar wrote:

“As for Bazball, forget it. It happened against lesser-quality bowling, but against a top-class Australian attack it’s back to good old grinding batting and not T20 shots. Test cricket is, after all, Test cricket.”

Gavaskar further lauded reigning World champions Australia for quickly finding Bazball’s weaknesses. The legendary Indian batter credited the Aussie pacers for the use of short deliveries to counter English batters despite playing in away conditions. He said:

“While the Australian attack was certainly taken by surprise at the approach of the England batters in the first Test match, they quickly regathered themselves and realized that this Bazball approach couldn’t succeed against their attack consistently.”

The cricketer-turned-commentator said:

“They also learned that bowling short to the English batters was going to get them wickets rather than the pitched-up deliveries which the batters were prepared for. Suddenly, with having to play the ball around their ribcage and helmets, the English batsmen found they couldn’t quite cope with it and so Australia went two up without too much trouble.”

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England need 224 runs to bounce back in Ashes 2023

England need 224 runs to win the third Test at Headingley in Leeds to bounce back in Ashes 2023. The hosts are chasing a target of 251.

Ben Stokes and Co. will resume their innings at 27/0 on Day 4, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett at the crease.

Batting first, Australia scored 263, courtesy of Mitchell Marsh’s run-a-ball 118. For the hosts, Mark Wood took a fifer, while Chris Woakes bagged two wickets.

In response, England were bundled out for 237 thanks to Pat Cummins, who ended up with figures of 6/91. Ben Stokes top-scored with 80 runs, but the visitors got 26-run first innings lead.

The hosts then bounced back to bundle out Australia for 224. Travis Head starred with the bat, scoring 77 off 112 balls. For England, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad settled for three wickets apiece.

Click here to follow the 3rd Ashes Test live score updates.