Didn't really see BazBall in my two Tests against England in Ashes 2023: Nathan Lyon

Australia spinner Nathan Lyon has claimed that in the first two Tests he played against England in Ashes 2023, he couldn’t see any Bazball from the hosts.

The new mantra under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum had yielded England a lot of success in the past one year. However, the first two Tests in the Ashes 2023 series saw Bazball come under serious scrutiny.

The decision by Stokes to declare the innings on day one of the first Test was met with a lot of criticism. During the second Test at Lord’s, the likes of David Gower and Michael Vaughan criticized England for losing wickets due to their aggressive approach and not playing according to the situation.

Speaking to Sen Cricket, Lyon, who played only the first two Tests, claimed that he wasn’t really convinced about England’s mantra. The off-spinner didn’t really see Bazball during the first two Tests he played. The off-spinner went on to say that there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with the aggressive approach by England.

“I know everyone keeps talking about BazBall, to be honest, I didn’t really see BazBall… throughout my two Tests again them,” said Lyon.

“I’m 2-0 in my Tests against BazBall… I look at the Australian cricket team and the batters we’ve had, David Warner for example… I’ve seen him score hundreds in a session… and that’s off playing an attacking brand of cricket.”

“I think there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with BazBall, if I’m being honest with you, and I feel like if you’re going to play an aggressive brand of cricket anyway, it’s about being able to go up and down in gears and understanding the moments in the game.”

England were able to bounce back after the Lord’s Test as they won two out of the remaining three Tests, with the match in Manchester almost going the way of the hosts before rain intervened.

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