'We play a style of cricket..' - Brendon McCullum defends ‘Bazball’ despite England’s defeat in 1st Ashes Test vs Australia

Brendon McCullum backs England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ style despite losing the 1st Ashes Test to Australia, insisting the approach remains the team’s strength.

Brendon McCullum (Image Credit: ECB)

England lost the first match of the Ashes 2025 against Australia in Perth. While there were many criticisms against the team and the way they batted throughout the first match. Well, England have been doing this for a while now. They have batted fearlessly without thinking about the wickets.

However, if we look closely at the results, that doesn’t look quite positive. In times of crisis, the bats have thrown their wicket trying to go after the bowlers, which isn’t a good approach, especially in test cricket. Coming to England’s rescue, head coach Brendon McCullum made it clear that they are trying a new batting approach and there is nothing harmful in it.

“The last few years, we’ve built a set-up which is connected, it’s tight, and we play a style of cricket that we believe gives us our best chance. If we go away from that, then we’re in trouble. There’s no point trying to play for safety per se,” said McCullum at the press conference.

Where to watch the Australia vs England match?

Cricket fans in India can watch the Australia vs England 2nd Test in the Ashes 2025 from November 29 online on JioHotstar, via OTTplay Premium.

Also read: India’s WTC campaign suffers blow after embarrasing defeat vs SA; slips from third position

Can England win second game against Australia?

If England continue to play test cricket in this manner, it will surely be difficult for them to win the second test match against Australia. The Australian bowlers have figured out a way to destroy England’s batting lineup through the bowling.

“We’ve been in this situation before.... We played South Africa and lost in two days in that first Test and came back and won that series 2-1. Sometimes we get beaten, and sometimes it looks pretty ugly, but having that mentality allows us to still believe in our abilities next time we step out to play,” added McCullum.

Now, if England try to stay at the cruise, settle down, and then start going after the bowler like the old tactics as per the cricket books, then there are chances of England dominating Australia in their own backyard. Australian captain Pat Cummins is set to return for the second test, making England’s life even more difficult. However, the fiery contest between the two teams has been interesting to watch for the fans.

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