“Bazball had Australia scratching their head as to how they were going to combat it”: Ricky Ponting on Ashes 2023.

Former Australian cricket captain Ricky Ponting has expressed his thoughts on England’s unconventional ‘Bazball’ strategy during the recent Ashes series. Ponting noted that this approach puzzled the Australian team and led to multiple discussions about its impact on their gameplay.

The series began positively for the tourists, who won the first two matches. However, England, led by Ben Stokes, staged a remarkable comeback by securing victory in the third game. The fourth Test in Manchester ended in a draw, and England clinched the final game, preventing Australia from achieving a historic win on English soil. Ponting acknowledged that Bazball left the Australian side seeking solutions throughout the five-game series.

Ricky Ponting said “The two contrasting styles of play were great to sit back and watch. There was a lot of talk about Bazball and how England would approach it, and would that style stand up against the quality of the Australian attack – looking back, it probably did.”

Despite the challenges, he conceded that the 2-2 scoreline accurately reflected the outcome. Ponting also addressed the controversy surrounding the ball change in the fifth Test at The Oval in London, suggesting that it favored England and contributed to their series-ending triumph.

Adding “It probably had some of the Australian players, coaches, and the captain at different times scratching their heads as to how they were going to combat it. Think the 2-2 result, albeit probably slightly biased with a bit of controversy in that last Test with the ball changed the way that it was, that gifted England some conditions they probably shouldn’t have got, think the level of cricket played across the series, the 2-2 result was probably fair.”