Zak Crawley has stressed that while England are determined to win the Ashes they are “not about results” but entertainment.
The hosts are 1-0 down with four matches to play after losing to Australia by two wickets in a dramatic climax to the first Test at Edgbaston on Tuesday.
While skipper Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum have emphasised their belief in the team’s approach, with the latter saying the side want to keep “throwing punches”, Sir Geoffrey Boycott has claimed England “have got carried away” with the style nicknamed ‘Bazball’ and “seem to think entertaining is more important than winning.”
Opener Crawley told Times Radio it had been “a great week for cricket” as he made reference to the record Sky Sports viewing and BBC listening figures the match attracted, and added: “That’s what we’re all about – we’re not about results, we always talk about that, we’re not about winning or losing, we’re about entertainment.
“Of course we’re there to win, and it helps our brand and what we’re trying to do if we win, we get more traction if we win.
“But I don’t think we’ve lost anything this week, other than a game of cricket, which is (in) a five-match series. Other than that, we’ve gained a lot of respect and support and I think it’s great for the game.”
A major talking point from the first Test was England’s decision to declare late on day one on 393 for eight.
I don't think we've lost anything this week, other than a game of cricket, which is (in) a five-match series. Other than that, we've gained a lot of respect and support.— Zak Crawley
Vice-captain Ollie Pope said of that call: “I think what we tried to do didn’t pay off at the time, only because we gave ourselves an opportunity of taking two wickets that night, then hopefully rocking up on day two and we only need eight wickets.
“That’s something we spoke about a lot and was a decision we discussed as a group. We had an opportunity to bowl them out on the last day, we had a rain-affected day and we needed to take 10 wickets in 70, 80 odd overs.
“Looking back on that moment, nothing changes, and that’s what we’re about as a team. If we didn’t declare, we might have batted too long, they might have, and we might not have even been able to give ourselves an opportunity of 10 wickets on the last day.
“So I think again, we talk about that mindset, approach – just because it’s an Ashes series and there’s a lot more people watching than there is when we play another team, we want to make the same decisions and we have made those decisions over the last year-and-a-half as a team and we’ve been on the right side of the result a few times.
“That’s the mindset we’re in at the moment. We wouldn’t change a thing about the game, obviously other than the end result.”
Both players backed England to win the second Test that gets under way at Lord’s on Wednesday, with Pope also saying that “if we did go down 2-0, we still believe we can win 3-2 this Ashes series, 100 per cent.”
Writing in the Telegraph, former England batter Boycott said: “England have got carried away with Bazball and seem to think entertaining is more important than winning.
“But England supporters want one thing more than anything else – to win the Ashes. Scoring fast runs, whacking lots of fours and sixes is lovely. It is great. But only if England do not lose sight of the big prize which is to beat Australia.
“If at the end of the series Australia go home with the Ashes we will feel sick, regardless of how much we have been entertained.
“They are in danger of letting hubris be their downfall or, quoting William Shakespeare in Hamlet, being hoist by one’s own petard. They are going to defeat themselves. It would be sad if playing exciting cricket for a year is going to their heads.
“By all means entertain but cricket is like chess. There are moments when you need to defend. Sometimes you need to be patient and accept it. Do not just attack, attack, attack. England need a bit of common sense and pragmatism.”
