Former Australian batsman Adam Gilchrist has hit out at England opener Zak Crawley’s recent claim that “Baseball is blowing the Aussies”, making it clear that Australia have been playing an aggressive brand of cricket long before England adopted it. Speaking to Kayo Sports, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo, Gilchrist said: “We did it 20 years before them. It’s just the way you play cricket. No, it (Bazball) doesn’t excite me. It makes for compelling viewing. Do it.”
Speaking to The Times, Crawley claimed that England’s aggressive style of play under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes clearly got under Australia’s skin during the 2023 Ashes, which ended in a 2-2 draw. “Baseball has really thrown them off their feet, hasn’t it? Which is great. If they crack, then it’s better for us. All that stuff after the last series, talking about ‘moral ashes’ after what happened with Jonny Bairstow (he was stumped by Alex Carey at Lord’s), that was just a consequence of how we drew the series. In my eyes, if they said that, they would have felt it, a compliment.”
Bazball, a style associated with England coach Brendon McCullum, encourages players to bat and play fearlessly in Test matches, regardless of the match situation. While England enjoyed moments of brilliance under this philosophy, their results were inconsistent, winning 25 and losing 14 of their 41 matches.
Amassing 5,570 runs in 96 Tests at a strike rate of 82, Gilchrist was the cornerstone of Australia’s dominant 2000 side that combined aggression with consistency and set the benchmark for attacking cricket long before the Bazball era.
The tourists have struggled Down Under since England’s 3-1 Ashes victory in Australia in 2010/11, suffering a 5-0 whitewash in 2013/14 and losing the following two series 4-0. Still, England remain optimistic about their prospects in the upcoming Ashes 2025/26.
Former England fast bowler Stuart Broad recently weighed in and described the current Australian team as the weakest since England’s last series win Down Under. “It’s probably the worst Australian team since 2010, when England last won, and it’s the best England team since 2010,” Broad said on the BBC’s For The Love of Cricket podcast. “It’s not really an opinion, it’s a fact. So those things go with the fact that it’s going to be a great Ashes series.”
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Issued by:
Saurabh Kumar
Published on:
October 16, 2025
