"If England were truly committed to Bazball they declare earlier" - Damien Fleming questions hosts' tactics in fourth Ashes Test

Former Australian pacer Damien Fleming criticized England for batting deep into their first innings despite the knowledge of possible rain on days four and five of the fourth Ashes Test at Manchester.

After restricting Australia to a mediocre 317 in their first innings on a placid wicket, England piled on the runs when it was their turn to bat. Despite batting at a rapid pace of 5.50 runs an over, the hosts did not declare their innings in the must-win encounter and were eventually bowled out for 592.

Unfortunately for Ben Stokes and Co., incessant rain meant only a combined 30 overs of play was possible on the final two days. It left England stranded with five Australian wickets remaining to get within 61 runs for an innings victory. The draw meant the visitors retained the Ashes for a third consecutive series, leading 2-1 with a game remaining.

Speaking on SEN Radio, Fleming stated that he has no qualms with Australia retaining the Ashes courtesy of the drawn game and focused instead on England going away from the Bazball approach.

"It didn’t bother me, it’s England, it rains. To be honest England had chances in that last Test. If England were truly committed to Bazball they declare earlier, they get out of there, knowing they only have a finite number of overs in what was always going to be a rain affected match," said Fleming.

The former Australian bowler also pushed back on the narrative of England being the better side after four Tests.

"They were also only bowling 12 overs in an hour; they actually really could have pushed hard for this victory. Bazball has had this narrative where they thought they were one nil up after the first Test match and two nil up after the second," added Fleming.

The hosts are now in danger of becoming the first English side to lose a home Ashes series since 2001. Australia were in an identical position in the 2019 Ashes, but England staved them off with a dominating win in the final Test at the Oval.

"We’ve a chance to win 3-1" - Damien Fleming

Damien Fleming further insisted that if Australia could win the series 3-1, it will settle all debates on who was the better team in the Ashes. Despite the visitors leading 2-1, there have been several talks about England being the slightly better team in the series.

However, Fleming rubbished such suggestions and felt it was more for England to keep the positivity within the group than the actual reality.

"That might be important for their group, to keep that positive message going but if you look at it in a black and white way, we won the first two Tests and we’ve retained the Ashes. We’re a chance to win 3-1 and then there is no argument," said Fleming.

Australia won the opening two Tests in thrilling finishes before going down in another nail-biter in the third game at Headingley.

The arch-rivals will clash one final time in this memorable series at the Oval, starting Thursday, July 27.