Sri Lanka national cricket team interim coach Sanath Jayasuriya has shared his thoughts on the Bazball style of cricket that the England national cricket team has started playing in the Test format under head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.
Attacking cricket in its purest form has brought England a significant amount of success, but the team has also been subject to criticism from former players and pundits.
Under the leadership of Ben Stokes, the Three Lions recently defeated the West Indies at home. However, Stokes will miss England’s next assignment, which is a three-match Test series against Sri Lanka due to an injury he sustained while playing in The Hundred 2024.
Even in Stokes’ absence from the starting XI, England are expected to continue with their aggressive approach and look to record another series win.
The opening clash of the series will 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 scheduled to be played from Friday, September 6 at The Oval.
Sri Lanka have a poor record in Test series in England, having won just one series, which was in 2014. And with an aggressive England coming out with all guns blazing, things might not get any easier for the Sri Lankan Lions.
However, Sanath Jayasuriya is not worried about this. When asked about Bazball in an interaction with ESPNCricinfo, Sanath Jayasuriya stated that Sri Lanka used to play with the same approach in the past and there is nothing new in it. Jayasuriya went on to say that Bazball is nothing but something hyped by the media.
“Depending on the era, you get different styles. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist also did it in our era. It’s something similar to what we have had in the past. Only there has been some hype in the media that this is something new. They are trying to play attacking cricket from the start but the ultimate aim is to get to those totals of 300 or 400,” said Sanath Jayasuriya.
“I want to make sure that hunger exists” – 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 hopes his players will repeat his success and be hungry to perform. Sanath Jayasuriya said:
“I want to make sure that desire is there. Playing three Test matches like this is not an opportunity that comes easily again.
“We have to take advantage of it while we can. Scoring runs here is a challenge because even if the pitches are flat, the ball can start moving or sinking. We have to know how to adapt to that.”
Sanath Jayasuriya added that they have experienced players and that they will try to fight hard against the Three Lions. Sanath Jayasuriya explained:
“We have the personnel there, but we have to fight hard. If you play with six or seven batters, only two or three will perform well. If they get a start, they need to play long innings.
“They know they have that responsibility when it comes to challenging wickets. Everyone has to play their natural style, but once you get going, there are places where you have to slow things down a bit and bat fast or slow down a bit. When the ball gets older, it can still stick here, which is unique to the Duke ball.”
