"Absolutely justified in the way they have played" - Jason Gillespie defends Australia's approach in 2023 Ashes
Former Australian speedster Jason Gillespie has defended the national team's conventional method in the 2023 Ashes series. The South Australian justified it, stating that they have outsmarted England to retain the Ashes urn.
Even as Australia risk losing the 5th and final Test at the Kia Oval in London, they will take the urn back home. The tourists won the first two Tests at Edgbaston and Lord's before losing at Headingley, with the fourth Test resulting in a draw due to rain.
In his column for The Daily Mail, Gillespie termed 'Bazball' sexy but also noted that England are 2-1 down in the series.
"It is really easy to criticise Australia over their slow run rate and the whole Bazball thing is sexy and exciting. But England are 2-1 down. Australia have come out and retained the Ashes, so I think they have been absolutely justified in the way they have played," he said.
The 48-year-old also explained how England had opportunities to win the first two Tests and failed to grab them.
"England have played some really good cricket and outplayed Australia at Headingley and Old Trafford. We get that. But they also lost the first two Tests. They had the opportunity to drive the series at Edgbaston and Lord's; they had the chance to be 2-0 up but they didn't take it. Some monumental mistakes cost them," he continued.
Gillespie went on to state that no one can be ultra-critical of Australia, given they will walk away with the urn.
"We have all had a spirited debate on how Australia have gone about things and I am sure their think-tank will learn some lessons. But they came into this series with a strategy and have executed that to retain the Ashes. So it is hard to be ultra-critical of them," he concluded.
The visitors snatched victory from the jaws of defeat at Edgbaston as Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon put on 55 to help Australia prevail by 2 wickets. The second Test saw them overcome a spirited Ben Stokes while defending 371 to win by 43 runs.
"I am not sure England versus Australia needed saving" - Jason Gillespie
With England repeatedly expressing their desire to save Test cricket instead of prioritizing winning, Jason Gillespie reckons they shouldn't have complaints about not winning the series.
"I England are on this mission to save Test cricket — although I am not sure England versus Australia needed saving — and they feel they will do that by scoring faster. At the start of the series, England were saying the result didn't matter because they wanted to change the direction of Test cricket and create a legacy. If that is your mindset, you can't then complain about not being able to win the series because of the weather at Old Trafford," he opined.
Nevertheless, he reckons Ben Stokes' leadership has been inspirational, given he took the pressure off his players by not making winning a priority. Gillespie observed that it's a massive change in the culture of the England team compared to his playing days.
"But my theory is that Ben Stokes was just trying to take the expectation and the pressure off his players. He wants them to go out and play with freedom and take the criticism away from them. That is pretty inspiring leadership. When I was playing, England players would have one bad Test match and be jettisoned," he expressed.
"But Stokes, Brendon McCullum and Rob Key have removed that fear of failure by getting rid of that nonsense from selection," he added.
England ended Day 3 of the 5th Ashes Test at 389-9, leading by 377.