The contest between England’s dialled-down “Bazball” approach and Australia’s more methodical batting could determine who prevails in the Ashes series beginning in Perth on Friday.
Conceived by head coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum and championed by skipper Ben Stokes, England’s gung-ho batting has reinvigorated test cricket with its implicit aim of making the five-day format more entertaining with positive results.
Stokes and his teammates have not always got it right, however, and have been criticised for being too reckless on several occasions.
Going by their aggressive batting in the single warm-up game against their second XI, England are not going to abandon the trademark aggression, even if they may tailor it to match the situation.
Joe Root may not personify ‘Bazball’ – that honour goes to Harry Brook – but it is his reassuring presence in the middle order that allows openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley to go hard at the bowling from ball one.
One of the finest batters of his era and second only to Sachin Tendulkar in career test runs scored, Root is still searching for his maiden test hundred in Australia.
Stokes, though, was crystal clear about what he wanted from England’s batting mainstay over the next two months.
“He’s the greatest English batter that the nation’s seen,” Stokes said.
“He’s been in phenomenal form over the last two, three years. And in his words, he’s not come out here to score 100s in Australia. He’s come out here to contribute to his team.”
POPE AT THREE
Ollie Pope may have retained his number three slot with scores of 100 and 90 in the warm-up match but can expect sterner tests on bowler-friendly tracks Down Under.
Brook’s flamboyance and Stokes’ counter-punching could prove match-defining for England, who will also expect handy runs from wicketkeeper Jamie Smith.
Australia’s batting approach, in contrast, will be more routine than radical with uncertainties about the makeup of their lineup.
Over the last couple of years, Australia have adopted the approach of selecting their top six batters and then deciding on the optimum positioning in the order.
They will welcome back a fit-again Cameron Green and the Ashes line-up is likely to depend on whether he is played as an all-rounder or a specialist batsman.
Slotting Green in at number six as the bowling all-rounder at the cost of Beau Webster would clear the path for Jake Weatherald’s test debut as Usman Khawaja’s opening partner.
Alternatively, Marnus Labuschagne could partner Khawaja, which would allow Australia to accommodate Green at number three and retain Webster at six.
Travis Head, while not in great form of late, has scored eight of his nine test hundreds on home soil and wicketkeeper Alex Carey can be relied upon to contribute useful runs in the lower order.
Steve Smith has scored 3,417 runs at an average of 56.01 against England and will be relishing the prospect of tormenting the visiting bowlers for perhaps the last time in test cricket.
With regular skipper Pat Cummins missing the Perth opener due to injury, Smith will combine his batting duties with the responsibility of leading the team.
“It’s going to be a wonderful series, I think England are a really good side at the moment,” the 36-year-old said.
“We’ve been a really good side over the last three or four years in particular, making two (World) Test Championship finals. It’s going to be exciting. I can’t wait.”
(Editing by Ed Osmond)
