England head Down Under for the Ashes, ready to unleash ‘Bazball’ on Australia in their own backyard - much to the annoyance of the hosts.
Two years ago, England’s ‘Bazball’ approach - brought about by head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes - saw them roar back to earn a 2-2 series draw on home soil.
Former England batsman Mark Butcher welcomed the gutsy approach in the summer of 2023, which he believes winds the Australians up.
Getting under the skin of your hosts is one thing, but Butcher fears a similar approach may play into their hands this winter.
“Yes, ‘Bazball’ winds them up without a doubt! I kind of understand why because if you remember back to the 1990s and 2000s, ‘Bazball’ was what Australia did,” Butcher told BOYLE Sports.
“That could very much play in our favour, but my feeling is, and they did it in the 2023 Ashes, would be that the Australians go: ‘We know that you're more than likely to take an aggressive or even reckless option from time to time, so we’ll just sit back and let you do it.
“Australia, in terms of their hard-nosed attitude to winning Ashes series, they're not bothered whether or not it looks pretty, or whether or not the scoring rates are high enough - the results are the only thing that matters.
“If England don't temper that and be smart and play situations as opposed to playing ‘Bazball’, then I think Australia will make life very, very difficult for us just by virtue of the fact that they'll be smart around how they deal with what our what our tactics might be.”
Butchers has earned his own place in Ashes history with a magnificent unbeaten 173 in the fourth Test at Headingley in 2001, which helped guide England to victory and deny Australia a series whitewash.
Three years earlier, ‘Butch’ was part of the touring squad that went Down Under in 1998, and experience he compares to “being treated like a criminal”. The Crystal Palace fan has described the welcome as akin to a fierce London derby in the Premier League.
“I remember on my first Ashes tour getting off the plane in Australia, you'd be collecting your baggage from the carousel and I remember them just taking every single piece of kit out of the coffin,” Butcher continued.
“They're spraying your bats and spraying the soles of your shoes and basically treating you like criminals from the second you arrive. And that was when you went ‘Okay, this is how it's going to be!’
“You're going down there for a two-to-three-month tour and it's like being involved in a London derby, like Arsenal vs Tottenham, for three months on the spin. That's the level of scrutiny and interest - newspaper stories and everybody in the country is interested in the Ashes and there isn't anything like that anywhere else.
“Even in India, you get a little bit of a break from it. It's not as in your face, but in Australia, the Ashes are treated on a different level to anywhere else.”
Former England and Surrey cricketer Mark Butcher was speaking to BOYLE Sports, who offer the latest cricket betting odds ahead of the upcoming Ashes series.
