"Just been some media publicity that this is something new" - Sanath Jayasuriya says 'we have had Bazball in the past'

Sri Lanka's interim head coach Sanath Jayasuriya has shared his perspective on the term 'Bazball' ahead of the Test series against England, which begins on August 21 in Manchester. Jayasuriya opined that such an aggressive approach existed also during their playing days but suggested that the media publicity around Bazball is on a different level.

Since Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes took over as England's Test coach and captain, respectively, they have adopted an aggressive style of play. The summer of 2022 is prominently remembered for three consecutive wins chasing over 250 successfully, including 378 against India at Edgbaston.

Speaking to ESPN Cricinfo, Jayasuriya recalled how the Australian pair of Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist also played 'Bazball' style during his playing days. He said:

"You get various styles depending on the time. Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist did it too during our time. This is something similar to what we have had in the past. There has just been some media publicity that this is something new. They try to play attacking cricket from the outset, but the end goal is to get to those totals of 300 or 400."

Talking about the upcoming series, the 55-year-old reckons restricting English batters in the first ten overs will be critical and the bowlers must bowl in the right areas.

"It's in the first ten overs that there will be the most pressure, I think. If you look historically, they have been attacking in that first ten overs and getting runs on the board quickly.

"We have got some plans to counter that. And we know this is how they will play. We have to bowl in the right places, and if they hit the good balls, that's okay. We need to identify the right lengths given the conditions."

The regime of Stokes and McCullum suffered their first series loss to India earlier this year. With McCullum underlining the need to refine 'Bazball', England did it successfully, beating the West Indies 3-0.

"We have the personnel there but we need to fight hard" - Sanath Jayasuriya

Jayasuriya feels Sri Lanka's strength is their experienced batting unit but stressed that the batters must play big innings if they get their eye in. He explained:

"We have an experienced batting order. Dimuth Karunaratne, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dhananjaya de Silva, Dinesh Chandimal - they have all played a lot of cricket.

"We have the personnel there but we need to fight hard. If you play six or seven batters, only two or three will perform for sure. If they get a start, they need to play big innings. They know they have that responsibility on challenging wickets."

The ex-opener and captain also suggested that Sri Lankan players must relish the opportunity to play three Tests in a series alongside preparing for the impending challenges during the tour. He added:

"I want to make sure there is that hunger. Playing three Tests like this, this is not an opportunity you will get easily again. So we have to take it while we can. Scoring runs here is challenging, because even if the pitches are flat, the ball can still start swinging, or seaming. We have to know how to adjust to that."

Sri Lanka won their first and only series in England in 2014.