Ashes: England playing Cazball, not Bazball says Australia's Glenn McGrath

The former Australian fast bowler wrote in his columns that England have been too casual in their approach in this Ashes so far

A new term has been coined in the wake of Bazball. 'Cazball' is what Glenn McGrath has come up with for the English approach in the ongoing Ashes. The former Australian fast bowler feels England have been casual and thus, Cazball, a spin-off to their aggressive approach Bazball, rightly defines their attitude in the first two Tests. 

“Now, I am a fan of Bazball. The concept of backing yourself, playing without fear and putting pressure back on the opposition. But Bairstow's dismissal epitomises what we have seen from England in this series. It has been Casual Ball - CazBall if you will, not Bazball,” McGrath wrote in his column for BBC Sport.

McGrath was initially in favour of the view that Australian captain Pat Cummins should have withdrawn the appeal by wicket-keeper Alex Carey. But he, later on, changed his view after thinking a lot.

Also Read: Spirit of cricket debate sparked with Bairstow's stumping, Long Room drama

“What is telling is every single one of the former players I have spoken to, English or Australian, did not have a problem with it. Even West Indies legend Brian Lara has said it was out,” wrote the man with 563 Test wickets to his name. 

Reasoning why he called England’s approach casual, McGrath listed certain instances in the first two Tests. “If you go back to day one of the Lord's Test, England were too casual. After a rain delay, Australia's batters were champing at the bit to get out there. The umpires were on the field, but despite conditions massively in their favour, half the England players, captain included, still had their feet up on the balcony,” the 53-year-old wrote. 

He mentioned another instance where Ollie Robinson called Nathan Lyon as one of Australia’s three number 11s and then Lyon went on to win the game with the bat in the first Test. 

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McGrath also attacked the ‘Spirit of Cricket’ remark that the English are using as a shield for their failures in the first two games. The Pigeon criticized the English attitude towards Test cricket saying, “The Bairstow dismissal, the Yorkshireman walking out of his crease like he owned the game, was the culmination of everything we have seen from this current team.”

“I have read a lot about the 'spirit of cricket' this week. Well, you have to respect Test cricket with your attitude as well. You cannot just go wandering out of your crease,” he added.