[Exclusive] 'England not focused on WTC' - Monty Panesar dissects Bazball approach amidst red-ball struggle

England have time and again failed to enter the finals of the World Test Championship. They could not qualify for the finals in the 2019-21 cycle and they finished fourth in the 2021-23 edition, even though they won their last five games on the trot. They have no hopes left of making it to the finals in the current cycle either as they occupy the fourth spot with India, Australia, and Sri Lanka preceding them with a superior point percentage.

Former England spinner, Monty Panesar, has shed light on the approach of the creators of ‘Bazball’ cricket. He opined that the team is sticking to its fearless brand of cricket and just wants to entertain the audience. 

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“England do not want to feature in the World Test Championship final. Their goal is to play entertaining cricket. Even when I see, it is a different brand of cricket. Other nations are not playing that kind of cricket. England are playing like how a side plays to entertain the crowd and also the other side that wins the game but playing contrary to the textbook style of cricket. They are playing a ramp shot with the new ball and it is astonishing the way they are playing cricket,” said Panesar speaking Exclusively with CricTracker on the sidelines of LLC 2024.

For the unversed, the former England great Geoffrey Boycott came hard at England’s approach after England fumbled in the fourth innings of the Rajkot Test. Even former England skipper Michael Vaughan accused the side of disrespecting Test cricket. But the fans across were glued to televisions whenever the English batted. Panesar added that Ashes is what the team wants in their cabinet rather than WTC.

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“England’s approach is to win the Ashes trophy, they are not focused on the World Test Championship. Frankly speaking, if you give any England cricketer the choice between Ashes or WTC, he will choose Ashes. England’s planning is for 12 months, where they plan how to tackle Australia when they tour them or host them. This is the biggest series for England. They should pay attention to WTC but they don’t as of now,” Panesar added.