Usman Khawaja admits Bazball's allure but says Australia will play their way
Usman Khawaja admitted he had been caught up in the entertainment provided by Bazball, but added that ultimately it doesn't matter how a Test match is won while England continue to insist the end-game is not something they are concerned with.
Khawaja has experienced both sides of England's approach over the first two days of the Edgbaston Test, firstly as a fielder as they rattled along at more than five over and then as a batter confronted by a range of unusual fields by Ben Stokes.
"It's hard not to get taken away by it," Khawaja said as he finished the second day unbeaten on 126. "The way they batted yesterday was pretty entertaining, even for someone like me who was on the field. Some of the shots were really entertaining. [Joe Root] reverse-lapping them, [Harry Brook] charging down and hitting over the top of cover.
"It's great to watch, I understand why people enjoy watching it but doesn't matter how you win in Test cricket it's all about trying to win. Whether they win or we win at the end of this Test, no one will care how you did it, whether you scored at six an over, whether you scored at three an over. This is why a Test match is a beautiful game. You have to do things your way. I've learned that over a long career."
However, while Khawaja is of the school that the result still matters, England are continuing their approach of taking that away from their thinking.
"We have said right from the start we are trying to make Test cricket a lot more entertaining. If we don't do that, then Test cricket might not survive," assistant coach Paul Collingwood said after a day where England could have been in a much stronger position if not for three missed chances.
"Our vision as a Test team is far greater than results. Australia can go about it how they want to go about it, but we'll stick to our plans and we're happy with how we did it over the first two days."
Meanwhile, Khawaja believes he can see the influence of Brendon McCullum in how Stokes operates, having overlapped with McCullum during his Test career and been on the receiving end of some left-field thinking.
"Think Stokesy has taken a little bit of that, but I like he does it his own way," he said. "He challenges the game and challenges people in different ways. We are here to entertain and think that stuff is extremely entertaining. Even the last ball when he just literally went right next to the bowler and said, you've got a free hit for six or four if you want it. Luckily [Alex] Carey just blocked it. I love that kind of stuff, it's cool."