Michael Clarke lashes out at England’s sneaky plan to ensure Australia lose the Ashes series
Michael Clarke lashes out at England’s SNEAKY plan to see Australia lose the Ashes by changing a feature on every ground ahead of the tour: ‘What a mess’
- England wants to maximize Baz-Ball’s advantages
- Will make a major change for The Ashes
- Clarke said it had the potential to backfire
Former Australian cricket captain Michael Clarke has criticized England over reports that they are planning to shorten limits for all five Test matches of the upcoming Ashes series in a bid to cash in on their aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach.
Named after new coach Brendon McCullum, Bazball is hugely popular among England fans.
The up-tempo, free-flowing style of cricket has seen England score at a much higher run rate than before, while also playing for outright wins when in the past they would have settled for a draw.
The England team are reportedly looking for new ways to fully exploit the new approach during the Ashes home game against Australia, which starts at Edgbaston on June 16.
According to The timesEngland have inquired about introducing the boundaries at the five Ashes locations in an effort to narrow the playing field and produce more boundaries and sixes.
Former Aussie skipper Michael Clarke has played in several Ashes Tests and does not believe England’s plans will benefit the home side
The England team have excelled since turning to ‘Bazball’ and will use the up-tempo approach next month against the Aussies in the Ashes
However, according to Clarke, the move could backfire on England.
Clarke said he doesn’t see the benefit it would have given Australian lands are twice the size of English lands anyway.
“What a mess,” Clarke said on Sky Sports radio on Monday.
“That’s why there are fewer sixes from Australian players. Bat to the MCG and you’ve got 90 yard limits; bat in England, and you have 60m boundaries.
‘Who cares? Both teams have to bat.’
Since May last year, England have hit the most sixes in Test cricket with 86, while Australia have hit just 32. India (58), New Zealand (56), Sri Lanka (56), Pakistan (38) and the West Indies (37) have all hit more than the Aussies.
Australia will be all too familiar with the size of the boundaries at Headingley in Leeds, where Ben Stokes produced a famous knock to win the third Ashes Test in 2019.
One of the boundaries at Headingley is only about 66 yards, but they could be shorter by the time the third test rolls around this time.
Australia have enjoyed great success against England on their own soil, but traditionally struggle as they travel to the Old Dart
Stuart Broad angered Aussies when he said the 4-0 that tied Poms’ last run didn’t really count due to Covid
England have already raised the hairs on the back of Aussie cricket supporters last week when Ashes tormentor Stuart Broad said the 4-0 thrashing England thrashed in the final series in Australia didn’t count.
“Nothing was harder than the last Ashes series,” Broad said.
“But in my mind, I don’t class that as a true Ashes. The definition of Ashes cricket is top sport with a lot of passion and players at the top of their game.
“Nothing about that series was a high level performance due to the Covid restrictions. The training facilities, the traveling, not being able to socialize. I wrote it off as a void string.”