Ashes 2023: Love Bazball but England needs to be a little bit smarter, says Michael Vaughan

Former England captain Michael Vaughan has revealed he loves Bazball but also feels Ben Stokes-led team needs to be a little bit smarter in the rest of the Ashes. England lost the opening Ashes Test match against Australia by two wickets at Edgbaston, Birmingham to trail in the series.

Vaughan reckons England had the opportunity to take the lead in the series but they failed to nail Australia down. In fact, England was in the shoo-in position when they needed two more wickets with 54 runs required but the hosts could not go past Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.

The Australian skipper Cummins scored an unbeaten knock of 44 runs whereas Nathan Lyon contributed 16 runs as the duo added 55 runs for the ninth wicket.

Meanwhile, England also missed their chances in the first innings as Jonny Bairstow could not deliver behind the stumps. Furthermore, Stuart Broad dismissed Usman Khawaja on a no-ball when he was on 112 runs in the first innings and the southpaw went on to make 141.

Moreover, Ben Stokes took a bold decision to declare at 393-8 in the first innings but it backfired in the end.

Michael Vaughan said on Cricbuzz, “I think both teams will change slightly at Lord’s. I think the Aussies won’t go as expansive in the first innings and spread the field. They’ll squeeze a bit more. I’ll be amazed if England don’t play just that little bit (cautiously). Bazball, I love. I love the energy and what it’s brought.

He added, “It’s now about winning and being that little bit smarter. When you’ve got an Australian team on the back foot, you’ve got to drive it down and nail them down even more. England just didn’t do that.”

England will look to bounce back stronger in the second Test match and not throw caution to the wind. The second Ashes Test will be played at Lord’s, from June 28 onwards.