Josh Hazlewood feels Australia's bowlers have curbed England's 'Bazball' approach during the Ashes
- Planet Sport writer
- 17 July 2023
Australia seamer Josh Hazlewood believes his side have had some success in curbing England's 'Bazball' approach during this summer's Ashes.
Josh Hazlewood says Australia's bowlers have successfully curbed England's 'Bazball' approach during the Ashes.
The tourists cannot claim to have put an iron grip on their rivals' overall run-rates, with England scoring more quickly in their third Test win at Headingley than they did in losing efforts at Edgbaston and Lord's.
Their scoring rate of 5.08 in the fourth innings chase was their highest of the series to date, but there have been several passages of play where they have settled into more traditional methods.
Ben Stokes has played both sides of the coin, hitting 14 sixes but also showing a willingness to battle through some hard yards before letting loose when batting alongside the tail.
Whether or not that constitutes an evolution of England's blueprint is hard to assess, given their own belief that the nickname is an oversimplification, but Hazlewood feels the Australian attack is making a dent.
"Yeah, I think so, to a degree. We've maybe changed a little bit the way they've played," he said, two days out from the fourth Test at Old Trafford.
"Conditions probably dictate that as well. It's the situation of the game all the time when those type of players come in and play those shots and it's a lot of contributing factors, I think.
"But we can take a positive look at that and say that we might have changed it a little bit. If it's a good wicket, they're coming hard, and it's sort of a long one-day game, T20. It's been exciting, but I feel like we've done a reasonable job of containing them from time to time.
"I've really enjoyed it. I think it's been a great challenge. After you play cricket for a long time, it's not that you get sick of the same old stuff. It's probably brought the best out in a few of our guys.
"It was exciting from the get-go. We've maybe changed a little bit the way they've played."
Hazlewood is set to return to the side in place of Scott Boland in Manchester, where he took six wickets to help Australia retain the urn on their previous visit four years ago.
They ended up drawing that series 2-2 and the prize is even bigger this time, with a win enough to seal a first outright victory on English soil since 2001.
"I'm hugely excited, I've got fond memories of the last time here in 2019 so it's good to be back," he said.
"Obviously I sat the last game out, but I feel better for it. It was probably the right call now I can sit back and look at the big picture. I was desperate to play, but now it makes sense.
"Hopefully, after that little break, I'll come out firing again."
