'What is Plan B?': Steve Waugh questions England's strategy to use Bazball in 2023 Ashes

Why you’re reading this: The England cricket team has made noise with their ‘Bazball’ approach in Test cricket, ever since coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes took charge of the team. The ‘Bazball’ style of cricket refers to the attacking and approaching style of play, displayed by England in the past year. ‘Bazball’ is one of the main talking points for the cricketing world heading into the England vs Australia Ashes 2023 series.

3 things you need to know:

• Australia face England in Ashes 2023 after winning the ICC World Test Championship 2023
• The formidable Aussie bowling lineup is all set to face England’s ‘Bazball’ style of playing
• The Ashes 2023 is slated to begin from June 16, 2023  onwards

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Ashes 2023: The legendary Steve Waugh questions England’s ‘Bazball’ approach

Legendary Australian skipper Steve Waugh has raised questions on how effective England’s ‘Bazball’ approach would be against the formidable Aussie bowling lineup during Ashes 2023. The newly crowned World Test Champions face England’s bazball style of cricket in the prestigious Ashes 2023 series, which is slated to begin on June 16. The bazball approach first came to light after Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took charge of England’s Test team as the head coach and captain, respectively.

It is worth noting that England have maintained an impressive run rate of 4.85 in the last one year in Test cricket, with five of their batsmen having a strike rate of 75. With Australia now awaiting to face England in Ashes 2023, Waugh questioned if England have a ‘Plan B’, in case the bazball approach doesn’t prove to be much effective. “That is the big question mark over so-called Bazball. What is Plan B? Have they got a Plan B,” questioned Waugh.

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“The ultimate test will be against a world-class bowling attack”

Further explaining the issue, Steve Waugh added, “Australia’s former Test captain asked. If they haven’t then they are going to be found out. They have shown they are good enough to carry this style of cricket off but the ultimate test will be against a world-class bowling attack, which Australia has got. It is exciting but to me the jury is out at the moment. Does [Bazball] hold up under scrutiny against a really good bowling attack in maybe challenging conditions?”.