Ian Bell says Bazball is not to blame for England's back-to-back Ashes defeats to Australia - but admits Ben Stokes' team must now be 'perfect' for three Tests.
The second Test at Lord's saw England's final innings become the centre of much debate, with Mitchell Starc's dropped catch and Alex Carey's stumping of Jonny Bairstow both coming under scrutiny. However, Ben Stokes' heroic 155 gave the team a glimmer of hope in chasing down 371, despite ultimately ending in a 2-0 series deficit.
Former England batsman Ian Bell has refused to blame Bazball for the team's losses, claiming that the approach does not need to change in order to get back in the win column. He has also backed Harry Brook to prove people wrong, despite the young batsman coming in for criticism for his loose shots in the first innings.
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“I don't think we can start blaming Bazball or calling it out as reckless. Yes, errors were made in that first-innings when they looked capable of taking the game away from Australia. There were loose shots,” Bell told Betfair (via BirminghamLive).
“I noticed Harry Brook came in for criticism for just that, but we saw later on that a number of players got out in exactly the same way, such was the nature of the pitch. I really like Brook and the way he plays. He's a young man just at the start of his test career. He will learn and I have no doubt be a big player in Ashes cricket.”
England have made three changes for the Test at Headingley, with Moeen Ali, Chris Woakes and Mark Wood all added to bolster the team’s bowling attack. Australia, meanwhile, will be without Nathan Lyon and Bell has given England one key instruction ahead of the third Test beginning on Thursday.
“One of the biggest things is now Australia will be without Nathan Lyon, so this could a big chance for England. But ultimately England have lost two from two in a home series. Perhaps the controversy and Ben Stokes' brilliance has taken the spotlight off this somewhat.
"England now need to be perfect for the rest of this series if they have any hopes of winning the Ashes. It really is as simple as that.”
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