England's Test team have enjoyed a remarkable turnaround under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, with their new 'Bazball' approach earning them nine wins in ten over New Zealand, India, South Africa and Pakistan.
Stokes and McCullum took charge last summer after England were thrashed 4-0 in the Ashes and then beaten 1-0 by the West Indies. The pair immediately got England playing a much more positive and aggressive brand of cricket, which has been dubbed 'Bazball' after McCullum's nickname.
Despite their success, Australia have not been impressed by 'Bazball', with Steve Smith saying it was "good fun to joke about" and David Warner highlighting England's sole loss to South Africa. "Bazball didn't work that Test," he said, before claiming Australia were looking to play 'Ronball' under their coach Andrew 'Ronnie' McDonald.
"I haven't really taken much notice of it. But I don't know if you guys know, we've got Ronball. We've been talking about Ronball, so it's gonna be interesting this summer to see how that goes."
Australia even went as far as displaying a sign in their dressing room during a Test against the West Indies that read "Ronball". However, England have been quick to laugh it off and remain committed to taking the attack to Australia in this summer's Ashes.
And Harry Brook, who has begun his Test career by smashing 480 runs at an average of 80 and a strike rate of almost 100, is confident 'Bazball' will work against Australia.
"I don't think we're going to change," he told the Daily Mail. "Why would we? We have lost one Test match out of 10, beaten Pakistan 3-0 on their own patch, something no other team have managed, and that is a phenomenal achievement."
Brook also paid tribute to Stokes and McCullum, saying they have made the entire squad "feel invincible". He added: "It's probably the most fun I've had playing cricket.
"You feel invincible. In the second Test in Pakistan, I only scored nine in the first innings and hit one straight up in the air. I only did that because I felt like I could do anything.
"Baz and Stokesy had given me that much confidence going out there, and I had such confidence in the team, that I felt like we were going to win any way, so it didn't matter what I did."
