England captain Ben Stokes has laughed off Australia's latest attempt to poke fun at 'Bazball' ahead of next year's highly anticipated Ashes series.
'Bazball' is a term that has been used to describe England's new positive and aggressive approach to Test cricket, coined in reference to new head coach Brendon McCullum's nickname.
While the approach and England's subsequent success has earned plenty of plaudits across world cricket, Australia have been far from impressed with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner quick to scoff at suggestions England are revolutionising Test cricket.
Back in July, Smith revealed that 'Bazball' had become a running joke within the Australian setup. "Guys just keep joking about it – I think Ronnie [head coach Andrew McDonald] has had enough of hearing about Bazball to be honest, it's good fun to joke about," he said.
Warner, meanwhile, said Australia would look to play 'Ronball' under McDonald while taking a shot at England's sole defeat under McCullum and Stokes - a loss by an innings and 12 runs to South Africa in August.
"Bazball didn't work that Test," Warner said. "I haven't really taken much notice of it. But I don't know if you guys know, we've got Ronball.
"We've been talking about Ronball, so it's gonna be interesting this summer to see how that goes." Australia even displayed a sign in their dressing room during the second Test against the West Indies earlier this month that said "Ronball".
And when asked about Australia and "Ronball", Stokes was quick to laugh it off, replying: "The what, sorry? Ah, Ronball – McDonald.
"Must be setting a trend for having a coach with 'ball' behind it. It's just natural, I guess, with how we play, because it's different to how it's normally thought about, that it's going to be spoken about outside our group as well. Ronball doesn't quite roll off the tongue as well as Bazball, even if Baz doesn't like it."
