'It's good fun to joke about' - Steve Smith reacts to England's Bazball approach

The cricketing world is raving about how England chased down 378 runs against India at Edgbaston on Tuesday (July 6). The England Test side, skippered by Ben Stokes, follows a play-free approach under new head coach Brendon McCullum, dubbed 'Bazball'.

However, Australia's premier Test batsman Steve Smith has given his opinion on the same, saying the team finds it rather funny.

According to WAToday, Smith said, "Guys just keep joking about it – I think 'Ronnie's' had enough of hearing about Bazball to be honest, it's good fun to joke about. I've watched a little bit of it, it's certainly been entertaining, they're coming out playing their shots. Even someone like Alex Lees started to come down the wicket when he was on nothing really, to play the way he played.

"We went at a good pace in the first Test, if you were sitting there not playing your shots or looking to score, you were probably going to get out eventually. So it was 'get them before they get us'.

Smith questions the sustainability of Bazball

Smith further remarked on how long such an approach will work when the English side finds themselves in alien conditions or against Australia.

"It's been exciting, I'm just intrigued to see how long it lasts if it's sustainable. If you come on a wicket that's got some grass on it and Josh Hazlewood, Cummins and Starc are rolling in at you, is it going to be the same? We'll see what happens," he added.

He explained that while giving an example from The Ashes series, in which Australia trounced the then Joe Root-led XI under former coach Chris Silverwood.

Silverwood, now with Sri Lanka, beat Australia in the ODI series after losing the T20I series.

"I think you saw the last Test against England, the pink ball game in Hobart, when 'Heady' and Marnus started to take the game on, the wicket was doing plenty, so it was a counteract, put the pressure back on the bowler mentality, and it worked on that occasion. Is it going to work every time? I don't know," the former Australia captain stated.

On Joe Root's 28th Test ton

Root, who has the most Test 100s amongst the 'Fab Four' consisting of Smith, Virat Kohli, and Kane Williamson, received a cheeky remark from his arch-nemesis, who mixed it with a compliment.

"He's played a few more Tests than me [121 to 86] as well!. It's great seeing other batters do really well around the world, playing different conditions, he played really well out here."

"Perhaps not on wickets that were doing quite as much as our first Test. But his plans, he's swept so well, he's got the courage to reverse lap them over the slips. He's a quality player and looks like he's pretty tough to get out at the moment," Smith quipped.

On his anger on Usman Khawaja

Smith also talked about his disappointment after getting run-out in the first Test at Galle, which saw the right-hander display displeasure towards batting partner Usman Khawaja.

"I hate getting run out, I think anyone does, particularly given the conditions and just gifting them a wicket, one of the most experienced players, I was pretty upset.

That happens in the game, I got over it pretty quickly, had to keep moving forward and that's part of the game. I spoke to 'Uz' straight after, it was pretty chilled, so mix-ups happen and we keep moving on," he concluded.

The second and final match of the two-Test series begins on July 8 at Galle. The visitors, under Pat Cummins, gained a 1-0 lead, convincingly winning the first Test by ten wickets.