It'd Be Interesting To See If England Can Play Same Aggressive Style Of Cricket In The Ashes: Ricky Ponting

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting is thrilled with England’s aggressive style of play, dubbed ‘Bazball,’ under new coach Brendon McCullum, but he will be curious to see if they can replicate it during the Ashes series. McCullum has had an outstanding start to his international coaching career, guiding England to four straight Test victories since his hiring in May, owing to a more offensive and aggressive attitude in all facets of the game.

While the Australian legend has been thrilled with McCullum and England’s recent performances, he is sceptical that such an aggressive style of play would hold up in a high-intensity Ashes series.

I Think On Current Form England Will Be Favourites If The Ashes Were To Start From Next Month: Ricky Ponting

“So far it has been unbelievable, and it has actually almost reinvigorated Test match cricket again, hasn’t it?” It’s not just coaching, but to be able to change the attitude of some of the English players to not be scared about getting out and to be fully committed to thinking about scoring runs and when you get the ball in your hand to be as aggressive as you can and set nice and aggressive fields,” Ponting said in the latest episode of The ICC Review.

“The interesting thing is going to be Australia over there (in England) in the middle of next year for an Ashes series. When the real pressure of an Ashes series comes around, it’ll be interesting to see if this England team is willing to play the same way,” he added.

When asked who would win an Ashes series in England if it began next month, Ponting was hesitant to provide a simple one-word response, although he did acknowledge England would start as favourites based on their current record.

“I don’t think there is much between the teams right now. I think there was a big gap between the England team that toured Australia last summer and the current Australian team. I thought there was a big gap in class. Just on the back of what they have done in their home conditions, England would probably start slight favourites if it was to happen next month,” he added.

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