Former Australian speedster Jason Gillespie has praised England’s mentality of not going for draws and going after only for Test match wins. Gillespie observed that entertaining the crowd has been one of the main things of the coach-captain pair of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes. However, since taking over as the coach and captain, McCullum and Stokes have asked England to play an aggressive brand of cricket which led England to 11 wins in their last 13 Tests, including a 3-0 series whitewash during the Pakistan tour as well.
Speaking to the Daily Mail, the veteran sais: “It’s easy for Ben to say that now — but when we get to the nitty gritty and in that moment, only he know if he will really do that. Don’t get me wrong, I like the thinking. That’s a winning mentality and looking to entertain the crowd has been the hallmark of the Stokes-McCullum partnership. It pains me to say it about England but it’s great viewing and an attitude they have never remotely had in the past. It looks a hell of a lot of fun and it will rub off on the next generation.”
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Jason Gillespie also said Travis Head is the trump card for Australia and that flat surfaces could backfire on England as well. As far as England goes, he added Ben Duckett and Jonny Bairstow will play pivotal roles.
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“I’m biased as his coach at South Australia but I’m a huge fan of Travis Head. He has experience of English conditions, he’s in good nick, as we saw at the Oval, and is playing in his typical aggressive way. If England really want batting-friendly surfaces, that could play into his and Australia’s hands. For England, I’ll be fascinated to see how Jonny Bairstow goes. He’s been preferred to Ben Foakes with the gloves and before he was injured was in as good form with the bat as ever in Test cricket. Ben Duckett has come on in leaps and bounds, too. I’m going for Australia to win 3-1. I also think there will be one draw, with a bit of weather around or just a hard-fought match, but I’m backing the Aussies to win! They’re in great shape,” he concluded.
