‘The two contrasting styles of play were great to sit back and watch’ – Former Australia captain’s take on England’s approach in Tests

England defeated Australia in the fifth and final Test match of Ashes 2023. The hosts completed a brilliant comeback to level the series 2-2 after being down 0-2. Chris Woakes was awarded the Player of the Tournament for his brilliant all-round performance, along with star Australia bowler, Mitchell Starc.

During and after the Ashes 2023, England was criticized for their Bazball approach by many former cricketers. However, former Australia skipper, Ricky Ponting has appreciated England’s aggressive approach in the Tests stating that the Three Lions made it difficult for the kangaroos to deal with the Bazball approach.

I think what they did selection-wise was right: Ricky Ponting 

“The two contrasting styles of play were great to sit back and watch. There was a lot of talk about Bazball and how England would approach it, and would that style stand up against the quality of the Australian attack. It probably had some of the Australian players, coaches, and the captain at different times scratching their heads as to how they were going to combat it,” Ponting was quoted as saying on SEN Radio.

“I think the 2-2 result, albeit probably slightly biased with a bit of controversy in that last Test with the ball changed, the way that it was, that gifted England some conditions they probably shouldn’t have got. I think the level of cricket played across the series, the 2-2 result was probably fair,” the world cup-winning captain added.

“As the series wore on, Cummo (Cummins) was probably the pick again. But, Starcy (Mitchell Starc) was outstanding. There were some questions about whether Pat could get through those six Tests and keep his intensity up. As it went on, it felt to me like they could have brought (Michael) Neser in at some stage in the right conditions. But I think what they did selection-wise was right,” the right-hand batter concluded.