Australian spinner Nathan Lyon mocks ‘Bazball’

London, November 25

Australian off-spinner Nathan Lyon has dismissed assertions that “Bazball”, an aggressive brand of cricket displayed by the England Test team, has revolutionised the game.

Lyon, who is just four wickets shy of 500 wickets in Test cricket, said he did not see “Bazball” in the two Ashes fixtures he was part of last year before getting injured for the remaining three.

The term “Bazball” came into being after Brendon McCullum, who is nicknamed Baz, was appointed England Test coach last year.

“I’m 2-0 against Bazball so I am happy,” Lyon joked on Channel 7’s Front Bar programme. “It’s a load of s***, if you ask me. It’s a brand of cricket that the English want to keep going with. Now, it’s in the dictionary, which is pretty extraordinary.”      

It was not the first time Lyon mocked “Bazball” and here again he termed aggression as an ability to shift through the gears during the course of a Test match.

“I know everyone keeps talking about Bazball, to be honest, I didn’t really see Bazball… throughout my two Tests against them.

“I look at the Australian cricket team and the batters we’ve had, David Warner for example… I’ve seen him score hundreds in a session and that’s off playing an attacking brand of cricket.

“I think there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with Bazball, if I’m being honest with you, and I feel like if you’re going to play an aggressive brand of cricket anyway, it’s about being able to go up and down in gears and understanding the moments in the game,” he added.

Australia had retained the Ashes with the five-match series ending at 2-2 last year.