David Warner mocks England’s ‘Bazball’: ‘We’re playing for Ashes; they’re playing for moral victory’ | Cricket News
Former Australian Test opener David Warner has dismissed England’s “Bazball” approach for the upcoming Ashes series, predicting a dominant Australian victory. Speaking at Kayo Sports and Fox Sports’ Summer of Cricket launch in Parramatta on October 13, Warner forecasted Australia would win the series 3-1 or 4-0, depending on captain Pat Cummins‘ availability for the opening Test in Perth on November 21.Warner expressed confidence in Australia’s playing style over England’s approach, which he viewed as seeking moral victories rather than actual wins.“The Australian way because we’re playing for the Ashes and they’re playing for a moral victory. There’s your headline,” Warner stated at the launch event.
England captain Ben Stokes speaks with Sky Sports commentator Michael Atherton after the end of the match on day five of the 5th Rothesay Test Match at The Kia Oval on August 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)
Warner further elaborated on his series prediction: “I’ll just stick with 4-nil. I think 4-nil. There’s going to be a washout somewhere; it’s generally Sydney. 4-nil. It’s going to be a great series. All dependant on the captain (Pat Cummins). If the captain doesn’t play, they might win one game. If Cummo’s (Cummins) there, 4-nil. If not, they probably win one game only.”The veteran opener cautioned against provoking English captain Ben Stokes, while encouraging general on-field banter between the teams.“I had the fortunate privilege to share a change room with him when he was younger and he has evolved into a serious cricketer and a fantastic leader. If we can sort of not poke that bear and get him up and about, I think that will help the Australians enormously. But I do want to see some bantering out on the field and I want to see them going at each other a little bit – obviously not at Stokes – because that is what creates that energy and involvement in the game. I think that is where the war of words comes out. Generally it is someone like myself who is starting it, but I want to see someone else in the (Australian) camp start something, whether it is Heady or someone else.”Warner backed Marnus Labuschagne‘s return to the Test team, citing his experience and impressive average of 50 in Test cricket.“Marnus has obviously come out of the blocks very well. When you’ve got a lot of Test cricket under your belt, you know what he’s capable of and you know what he can do. When someone’s averaging 50 in Test cricket, you’ve probably got to go back to that,” Warner commented.Warner also supported young Sam Konstas to retain his opening position alongside Usman Khawaja, despite Konstas’s recent struggles in the West Indies where he scored only 50 runs at an average of 8.33 across three Tests.“I’d like them to try and stick with Sam, give him a crack. He scored that hundred in the Australian A series. I thought he batted outstandingly there. I don’t think we’ve seen exactly what we know Sam Konstas can do. It’s a short-term fix if they want to try and find someone else … but there’s no reason why Sam Konstas can’t do that,” Warner said.England has not won an Ashes series since 2015 and hasn’t secured a Test victory in Australia since 2011. Labuschagne previously opened with Khawaja in the World Test Championship final against South Africa at Lord’s in June, before Khawaja was dropped for the West Indies tour after scores of 17 and 22.Recently, Konstas showed promise by scoring 109 and an unbeaten 27 in a multi-day game against India A in Lucknow.
