The Australian bowling attack has proved to be a formidable challenge for the Bazball team, surpassing England’s previous encounters in terms of quality, experience, and pace since last year.
After an exhilarating start to the Ashes 2023 with a closely fought match at Edgbaston, where England suffered a narrow two-wicket defeat, their batting lineup faltered in the first innings of the second Test at Lord’s. They were dismissed for 325 in response to Australia’s 416.
What stood out was the astonishing manner in which most of the English batsmen surrendered their wickets to the barrage of short deliveries from the Australian fast bowlers. It was perplexing to witness this, considering the knowledge that the short ball tactic would not be sustained for long.
The Australian bowlers were bound to tire due to the physical demands of consistently bowling bouncers. Furthermore, Australia had lost off-spinner Nathan Lyon to an injury on Day 2, which should have worked in England’s favor.
England’s batters simply needed to play a sensible game, focusing on batting for a sustained period of time. This would have tired out the Australian pacers and benefited England not only in the current game, where Australia would be without Lyon for the remainder, but also in the upcoming matches of the series.
Mitchell Starc's tactics do the job 🎯
— Sony Sports Network (@SonySportsNetwk) June 30, 2023
The southpaw deceives the English captain to put the hosts under pressure 🙌#SonySportsNetwork #ENGvAUS #Ashes2023 #RivalsForever #MitchellStarc pic.twitter.com/mbrF5uHRS3
However, despite England’s claims of standing by their Bazball batting approach, their display of game awareness fell short of expectations. Several batsmen made the mistake of attempting to attack the short balls, resulting in their dismissals.
