‘The big test to Bazball is against the Australians’ - David Gower ahead of Ashes 2023

After taking over the responsibility of England’s Test side, skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have completely changed the idea of how to play Test cricket. The duo introduced an aggressive style of play, which has brought a lot of success to the team as the Three Lions have won nine of their last ten Test matches, which includes whitewashes against New Zealand and Pakistan.

Even though their idea of playing aggressive Test cricket has worked wonders, former cricketer David Gower believes that the real test of the 'Bazball' will be against the Australians in the upcoming Ashes in England. He believes that Australia have a strong bowling attack and thus, it can trouble the English batters. The Ashes is set to begin on June 9 at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

“The big test to Bazball is against the Australians, the chance that we could do it or not comes up in the next few months. It is going to be interesting. Australia have a very strong bowling attack and have their own exciting batters and have their own positive approach to the game," the 65-year-old said while talking to Gulf News.

England will start feeling positive about the chances, that’s the whole culture. They are frightened of losing again because they back themselves to keep winning elsewhere,” he added.

He has developed into a magnificent leader: Gower hails skipper Ben Stokes

The former cricketer was also full of praises while talking about England red-ball skipper Stokes. He lauded the cricketer and appreciated the fact that Stokes has managed to transform England's cricket in just a matter of weeks.

“Who would have believed in these events in the last 12 months? He has developed into a magnificent leader and the part [Brendon] McCullum plays works beautifully. The way they have transformed the England Test team in a matter of weeks when he took over, has been just unbelievable,” Gower added.

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