Sanath Jayasuriya demolishes 'Bazball' even before start of ENG vs SL Tests with bold 'media publicity' claim

Sri Lanka National Cricket Team interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya shared his thoughts on the Bazball style of cricket that the England National Cricket Team started playing in Test format under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

The attacking brand of cricket in the purest form of cricket has brought England a significant amount of success, but the team has also been at the receiving end of criticism from former players as well as the experts.

Under the leadership of Ben Stokes, the Three Lions recently whitewashed the West Indies at home. However, Stokes will be missing the next assignment of England, which is a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka due to an injury he picked up while playing in The Hundred 2024.

Even in the absence of Stokes from playing XI, England are expected to continue with their aggressive approach and they will aim to register yet another series win.

The series opening clash be played from Wednesday, August 21, in Manchester and the second Test is scheduled to be hosted by Lord's from Thursday, August 29. The third and final Test is set to be played from Friday, September 6, at The Oval.

Sri Lanka have a poor record in the Test series in England, having won just one series, which came way back in 2014. And with the aggressive England coming out all guns blazing, things might not be easier for the Lankan Lions.

Sanath Jayasuriya, however, isn't worried about this. When asked about the Bazball in interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Sanath Jayasuriya stated that Sri Lanka used to play with the same approach in the past and there is nothing new to it. Jayasuriya went on to say that Bazball is nothing more than a thing hyped by the media.

"You get various styles depending on the time. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist did it too during our time. This is something similar to what we have had in the past. There has just been some media publicity that this is something new. They try to play attacking cricket from the outset, but the end goal is to get to those totals of 300 or 400," Sanath Jayasuriya said.

“I want to make sure there is that hunger" - Sanath Jayasuriya

Sanath Jayasuriya himself had great success in English conditions as he scored 421 runs in six Test matches at an average of 42.1 and a best score of 214. He is hoping that his players replicate his success and have a hunger to deliver. Sanath Jayasuriya said:

“I want to make sure there is that hunger. Playing three Tests like this is not an opportunity you will get easily again.

“So we have to take it while we can. Scoring runs here is challenging, because even if the pitches are flat, the ball can still start swinging, or seaming. We have to know how to adjust to that.”

Sanath Jayasuriya further said that they have got experienced campaigners on the side and it's just about fighting hard against the Three Lions. Sanath Jayasuriya elaborated:

“We have the personnel there, but we need to fight hard. If you play six or seven batters, only two or three will perform for sure. If they get a start they need to play big innings.

“They know they have that responsibility on challenging wickets. Everyone should play their natural game, but once you get that start, there are places where you need to break things down a little, and either bat quickly, or slow down for a bit. When the ball gets older, it can still seam here, which is the uniqueness of the Duke ball.”