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Canberra [Australia], August 13 (ANI): Australia’s seasoned off-spinner Nathan Lyon is ‘totally fine’ with England debunking the ‘pure entertainers’ tag and tweaking the ‘Bazball’ approach to churn out results as the oldest rivalry in cricket stands months away from adding another chapter to its rich history.

England felt the jolts against an in-transition Indian side during the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy. The five Tests, which were filled with entertainment and drama, ended at 2-2, courtesy of England overwhelming India in match-defining moments.

Several Australian players closely monitored the on-field action, and Lyon was among them. He underscored the transformation that Bazball has undergone from entertainment to a result-oriented approach. The subtle shift in England’s brand of cricket makes Lyon believe the Ashes will be one to watch out for, which is scheduled to kick off on November 21.

‘That’s the way they’re playing their cricket, which is totally fine by me. It’s shaping up for one hell of a summer. I think their approach has changed a little bit. They’ve got some stars in their cricket side who can win games of cricket off their own back. Joe Root, Ben Stokes and these guys,’ Lyon said as quoted from The Sydney Morning Herald.

‘But it looks to me like they’ve totally changed their approach, and they’re trying to think about how to win games of cricket rather than just being pure entertainers. And they’ve played some decent cricket over the last little while,’ he added.

Eight years ago, England were touring Australia after reclaiming the urn in 2015. The Baggy Greens assembled in Brisbane in November 2017, with selectors surprising many by drafting Cameron Bancroft and Tim Paine in the roster.

Lyon tried to deflect the pressure off the two youngsters by deploying the sledging tactic and made a bold statement, ‘Could we end some careers? I hope so’. The 37-year-old ball tweaker opened up about his remark and explained its need.

‘Looking back at that, I did that on purpose. I wanted to make it about England, take a lot of pressure off ‘Painey’ and Cam Bancroft. Painey was coming back into the side, Cam was making his debut, so there was a lot of pressure on our batting group, especially those young guys,’ he said.

‘I felt like my game was in a really good area, where I could be confident in backing up my skill [with words]. I wanted to take some pressure off them. That’s part of the game – I think I did that, all the attention came to me, which is all right,’ Lyon added.

Even in the present scenario, Lyon has slowly employed his sledging ploy when he weighed in on England’s frustration during the fourth Test in Manchester.

After Ravindra Jadeja and Washington Sundar refused to shake hands for a draw before their centuries, England Test captain Ben Stokes and his troops voiced their frustration. Lyon had a simple message for England and had said, ‘Get them out. Don’t let them get a hundred.’ (ANI)