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'It's A Load Of Shit': Nathan Lyon On England's Ultraggressive Test Approach 

image-lpc87gozNathan Lyon (Twitter)

Nathan Lyon came up with a brutal response when asked whether he is convinced about England's pronounced ultraggressive Test match approach with the bat under coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes.

Termed 'Bazball', the word coined after McCullum's nickname was recently inducted in the English dictionary but isn't one that Lyon gets the fuss about as he funnily deemed it a "load of s@#$" during an interaction with Australian TV show 'The Front Bar'. 

As he prepares for a return to Test match duties with the forthcoming assignments during the 2023-24 Australian summer versus Pakistan and West Indies, Lyon recalled the Ashes 2023 and insisted he was still "2-0 up against Bazball" since the veteran spinner wasn't involved in the series-levelling defeats in Headingley and The Oval. 

Lyon's injury proved to be a turning point of an epic series which Australia once led 2-0. The great off-spinner was ruled out with a calf issue that he picked up while fielding during the Australian win at Lord's and couldn't return for the remainder of the series. 

Nathan Lyon On Bazball Tactics 

"Well I’m 2-0 against Bazball so I’m pretty happy about it. To me it’s a load of s*** if you ask me. It’s a brand of cricket that the English want to keep going, now it’s in the dictionary which is pretty remarkable," said Lyon, who picked up eight wickets in the Australian win in Edgbaston in the opening Test. 

Lyon questioned why is England's aggression treated so special by the fans and the media when it's a style of play Australian opener David Warner and other attacking players of the world have been taking to the field over the years.

"I look at the Australian cricket team and the batters we’ve had, David Warner for example… I’ve seen him score hundreds in a session... and that’s off playing an attacking brand of cricket," he said. 

"I think there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with BazBall, if I’m being honest with you, and I feel like if you’re going to play an aggressive brand of cricket anyway, it’s about being able to go up and down in gears and understanding the moments in the game," Lyon added.