Ashes 2023: "Also Saw That With MSD And Co. In The IPL," AB de Villiers Impressed By England's Smart Cricket At Edgbaston
Published - 20 Jun 2023, 09:35 PM | Updated - 23 Aug 2024, 07:09 AM
Former South African cricketer AB de Villiers was impressed by England’s smart cricket in the ongoing first Test of the Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston. He said that with the kind of cricket they are playing, they are on the same page with MS Dhoni’s men, who were similar in the IPL.
England with their way Bazball approach continued to impress many even against the World Test Champions against Australia in the ongoing first Test of the Ashes 2023. They left the mark on the first ball of the game as Zack Crawley dispatched the first ball of the game for four.
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What was impressive was even though they lost wickets, they kept attacking the bowlers and scored runs at a run rate of around 5. However, they surprised many when they declared their innings on 393/8 with Joe Root batting at unbeaten 118 runs.
With the ball, England then chipped in and bundled out Australia for 385 runs, taking a lead of 7 runs. What they displayed in the first innings was on offer in the second innings as well. They kept losing wickets but they didn’t go on backfoot, managing 273 runs and setting a target of 280 runs.
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While defending the target, England came under a bit of pressure after a 61 runs-opening partnership by David Warner and Usman Khawaja. But after that they were spot on and took three wickets in Warner, Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to make their case strong for the first game.
What was impressive was the plans of skipper Ben Stokes for each and every batter. England put tremendous pressure on Australia with their field placements, which made scoring hard for them and they ended up giving their wickets.
AB de Villiers said that with the way England played the game, considering the weather, makes sense. He while touting England as the best team said that they will always put themselves in winning positions. Taking to his Twitter account, he said:
“I never looked at the Birmingham weather leading up to this Test match. The way England played now makes sense. Call it what you want, some say Bazz Ball, I just think it’s smart Cricket. The best teams are prepared to adapt and play situations in a way that’ll ultimately put them in a winning position more often than the rest, whether that’s by making bold declarations or playing reverse sweeps a lot, whatever it takes.”
Ashes 2023: “Saw that with MSD and co. in the IPL,” AB de Villiers on England’s approach
AB de Villiers further went on to say that every player is contributing to England and they have no ego’s and no stats-driven players, which was the case with Chennai Super Kings in the IPL as well. He added further:
“The only way to make it impactful is to have a complete buy in from every individual, no ego’s, no stats driven players, just a full on buy in to be the best team in the world. That’s how I see the Eng team play atm. Also saw that with MSD and co. in the IPL. Gonna be a fascinating final day. Let’s get it going. Aus still in with a chance here, unlikely, but possible.”
I never looked at the Birmingham weather leading up to this Test match. The way England played now makes sense. Call it what you want, some say Bazz Ball, I just think it’s smart Cricket. The best teams are prepared to adapt and play situations in a way that’ll ultimately put…
— AB de Villiers (@ABdeVilliers17) June 20, 2023
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