'If they are 5-50, are they still coming out and swinging?' - Mitchell Starc on bazball's sustainability ahead of Ashes

Mitchell Starc, Australia pacer, has questioned England's ability to maintain an aggressive stance, stating the Three Lions' offensive play makes the 2023 Ashes series exciting. Notably, the five Tests between Australia and England will be played from June 16 to July 31.

England's prospects have improved after Brendon McCullum took over as head coach and Ben Stokes was named as captain. They have used an aggressive style of cricket known as 'BazBall'. Notably, Ben Stokes and Co. broke a series of records in their 3-0 win over Pakistan in 2022.

Starc said that England will come out and swing even if they are 50 for five, stating it makes Ashes an exciting contest. He did, however, say that the Australians are prepared to play their own game regardless of what England puts at them.

We're not really buying too much into it: Starc

Furthermore, Mitchell Starc cited a match situation to question England's 'Bazball' approach. The left-arm pacer said that what if at one stage, the hosts are five down with just 50 runs on the board? Will the English batters still be gutsy enough to take the attack to the Australian bowlers?

"If they are 5-50, are they still coming out and swinging? Dunno," Starc was quoted as saying by the Sydney Morning Herald.

"They've been able to maintain it for some time. Fair credit to them, it's not just a one-off. It makes for an exciting Ashes contest. We'll see if that's the way they're going to play, how it goes. From the guys I've spoken to this week, we're not really buying too much into it," he added.

The 33-year-old also said that regardless of the pitch, both teams must take 20 wickets to win a Test match. The left-arm pacer also stated that England may score faster than Australia, but their batting lineup is fairly capable of scoring the same number of runs. Hence, Starc seemed excited about this fascinating battle and the series in totality.

"Have you ever seen a fast wicket in England? I don't know if they can make them fast. They can certainly make them flat. I think it's a bit of a smokescreen. There's always a bit of chat around the Ashes," he continued.

"It's still cricket and there are three stumps at either end. You still need to take 20 wickets to win a Test. They might score a bit quicker than we do, but there's no reason our batting line-up can't score the amount of runs they do. It's going to be fascinating to be a part of. I think there's a lot of people interested to see how it pans out," Starc concluded.