Mitchell Johnson makes staggering remark against England’s ‘Bazball’ in Test Cricket

Former Australian pacer Mitchell Johnson made a staggering remark on England’s “Bazball” approach in Test cricket ahead of the Ashes series. He labelled it as ‘bull****’ and claimed that it will backfire spectacularly against Australia in the upcoming Test series. Johnson was a key player for Australia during his career and was known for terrorising English batters with his lethal pace and left-arm swing.

In the 2013-14 Ashes series, Johnson picked record 37 wickets in five games at an average of 13.97, which makes him one of the most dominant fast bowlers in a historic rivalry between Australia and England. He retired from international cricket in 2015, leaving behind a lasting legacy as one of Australia’s greatest heroes in Ashes.

“It’s time to call bulls..t on Bazball. I’m happy to tip my hat to England for the way they’ve turned around their Test cricket over the past year under new coach Brendon McCullum, nicknamed Baz, and new captain Ben Stokes. Because they were a pretty sorry sight down here in Australia when flogged 4-0 less than 18 months ago,” Johnson wrote in his column for The West.

“Gamesmanship and getting into opponents’ heads is definitely a key ingredient here. But all the bluff and bluster surrounding Bazball won’t intimidate Pat Cummins and his team. England’s new obsession with attacking at all costs could actually play right into Australia’s hands and backfire spectacularly during the Ashes. Call it what you like but Bazball is nothing new. England are hardly the first team in Test cricket to use attack and aggression to try to overwhelm their rivals,” he further wrote.

‘McCullum and Stokes are being too clever by half…’ – Johnson

In his column, Johnson further said that the elements of Bazball have already been invented were used to great effect by West Indies in the decade of 1980s and Australia in the 2000s. Notably, Baseball is a term that originated in the 2022 English cricket season, that describes the playing style of the England Cricket team in the longest format under the skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum [‘Baz’].

“McCullum and Stokes are being too clever by half if they follow through on a request to their groundsmen for flat pitches and shorter boundaries to assist with their Bazball approach. It’s all their eggs in one basket and puts huge pressure on their batsmen to deliver,” Johnson wrote.