‘England are the favourites if our bowlers stay fit’ - Alastair Cook makes stirring revelation ahead of Ashes 2023

Former England skipper Alastair Cook provided his verdict on the eagerly awaited Ashes 2023, which is scheduled to be played starting on June 16. The former southpaw deemed the Three Lions as the ‘favourites’ for the crucial series, provided that their bowlers remain fit throughout.

Plagued with injury concerns prior to the series with Jofra Archer ruled out of the entirety of English summer, and James Anderson recovering from a ‘mild strain’ to his right groin, England are dealing with quite a few blows. While Archer is ruled out for the one-off Test against Ireland and the Ashes, seasoned pacer Anderson is aiming to recover just in time for the crucial series against the Aussies.

Ahead of the Ashes 2023, Cook highlighted that the English team could triumph if they manage to keep their bowlers fit. In addition to this, he expressed that the ‘Bazball’ approach under head coach Brendon McCullum will be hard to play against owing to its ‘confrontational’ nature.

“One thing, it will be entertaining. Ben Stokes has played such a fantastic round of cricket and the lads were brought into it but there are so many unknowns. But what I do know is that ‘Bazball’ is too confrontational and hard to play against. I am going to say that England are the favourites if we can just make sure our bowlers stay fit," Cook told in an interview with Sky Sports.

England adopted 'Bazball' post Brendon McCullum's appointment as the England head coach 

For the unversed, McCullum was appointed as the head coach in May 2022. Since then, under the leadership reins of Ben Stokes, England have won ten of their 12 Test matches, producing some jaw-dropping cricket under the head coach’s aggressive approach.

England are set to play a one-off Test match against Ireland starting on June 1. Following the conclusion, the Three Lions will turn their attention to the highly anticipated Ashes series against arch-rivals Australia starting on Friday, June 16. The think tank will hope that the players remain fit and put up a challenge against rivals in the crucial five-match Test series.