Mitch Johnson labels Bazball ‘Brainfadeball’ as he slams Harry Brook’s ‘disgusting’ dismissal

Mitchell Johnson has dismissed England’s Bazball approach as a ‘brain fade’ that is almost ‘disrespectful to the game’, after the hosts’ top spot crumbled in both innings of the second Ashes Test at Lord’s.

England looked poised to take a first innings lead but fell from two for 188 to five for 279 and then lost the remaining five wickets for just 46 runs in a dismal batting on Day 3.

Chasing an improbable 371 to level the series, England were reduced to four for 45 on Saturday before Ben Duckett and Ben Stokes stabilized the ship.

However, England still need 257 runs on the final day in the Home of Cricket to level the series.

And the former Australian fast bowler believes the hosts’ ultra-aggressive approach has been discovered.

Brook was out for an ugly shot in the first innings when he was caught bowling Mitchell Starc for 50

“It only took eight days after the Ashes series for Bazball to be exposed as Brainfadeball,” he wrote in his column for The West Australian.

“Some people see Bazball as great for the game and say it makes Test cricket exciting.

“You know who else it’s exciting for? The opposition. It’s exciting for the Australian team or any team playing against them, who have a good bowling attack and good plans.’

“As a fan, I don’t find Bazball exciting. In England’s first innings at Lord’s it almost reached the point where it was disrespectful to the game.’

In the run-up to the Ashes, England’s cavalier approach saw 11 wins in 13 Tests after Stokes took over as captain and Brendon McCullum replaced Chris Silverwood as head coach.

In comparison, England had only won once in their previous 17 Tests.

However, the style proved lacking in the first two Tests of the series, with England routinely discarding wickets rather than pushing through their advantage.

Zak Crawley was stunned after inexplicably walking down court to Nathan Lyon in the first innings, before Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root and Harry Brook all succumbed to the short ball.

Australia ripped through England’s batting squad with a barrage of bouncers

Mitchell Johnson believes England’s ultra-attacking approach has been found inadequate

“That’s not entertaining, I’m sorry, that’s stupid test match cricket and Australia will be happy with that method,” former England captain Michael Vaughan told BBC Sports.

Brook was especially unconvincing as he put together his 50, before knocking Mitchell Starc straight into cover.

McCullum and Stokes have claimed England will continue to be aggressive, but Johnson insisted they will do so at their peril.

“The recklessness of it is astonishing,” he said.

“That shot from Harry Brook to get out in the first innings was disgusting. It was just shocking.

“The only people who praise it are the people in that English dressing room.”

Johnson described England’s approach to their first innings at Lord’s as shoddy and poor and warned that Australia have proven that Bazball’s do-or-die approach has no future in the game’s longest format.

“If they refine it and really think about it a bit more, maybe Bazball has a future,” he said.

“But right now it’s all or nothing and they’re essentially playing Twenty20 luck. I don’t think that’s a smart approach in the longer format.’

Under Ben Stokes (left) and Brendan McCullum (right), England won 11 of their 13 Tests for the Ashes but are on the verge of falling 2-0 down in the series

Duckett missed a Test ton by two runs after being rebounded on 98 by Josh Hazlewood, but remained unrepentant.

“It’s a shot I play and a shot that has scored a lot of points in my career. I would have gutted myself if I had walked away from it, gone into my shell and gloved one behind it,” he said.

“Ten yards on either side and I’ve got a hundred. When I fell this close to three figures here at Lord’s, I was clearly devastated half an hour after that, but I’m happy with how I played. I thought it was definitely my best innings in an England shirt.

“It’s the way we play cricket. If they have plans like that and we go into our shells, it would be totally against what we are doing. We lost a few wickets, but we’re in good shape.’