England chased down 378 in the fourth innings against India to win the Edgbaston Test.
Australian batter Steve Smith on Wednesday (6th July) called England’s Bazball approach entertaining. He said that he is intrigued to see how long it lasts.
England’s new era under skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum started on a high note. After they whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 in the Test series, they pounded India by 7 wickets to win the rescheduled match.
In all four matches, England displayed a staggering performance in all departments and pulled off incredible chases, including their highest when they chased 378 runs against India at Edgbaston.
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English players looked very optimistic on the field as they played an attacking brand of cricket and made many applaud them for their heroics. Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow were the main architects behind their wins while others chipped in at different stages and help their side reply to all the critics that they have faced of late.
Speaking to reporters ahead of the second Test against Sri Lanka, Steve Smith lauded England’s Bazball approach and called it entertaining. He also highlighted how Alex Lees came down the wicket against India and started playing his shots initially. He’s intrigued to see how long it lasts and if it’s sustainable
“I’ve watched a little bit of it, it’s certainly been entertaining, they’re coming out playing their shots. Even someone like Alex Lees started to come down the wicket when he was on nothing really to play the way he played (against India),” Steve Smith said.
Smith talked about the wicket, saying that it contains a fair bit of grass and their pacers are rolling in.
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“If you come on a wicket that’s got some grass and Josh Hazlewood, (Pat) Cummins and (Mitchell) Starc are rolling in at you. Is it going to be the same? We’ll see what happens,” he said.
Smith also lauded Root and said: “He’s a quality player and looks like he’s pretty tough to get out at the moment.”
Smith talked about Australia’s performance in the first Test against Sri Lanka. He said that they adopted the policy of getting them before they got them.
“We went at a good pace in the first Test. If you were sitting there not playing your shots or looking to score, you were probably going to get out eventually. So it was get them before they get us,” he said.
The second Test between Sri Lanka and Australia will be played on Friday (8th July) at Galle. The visitors currently lead the series 1-0.
(AFP inputs)