Method or madness, batting approaches could decide Ashes

The contest between England's dialled-down "Bazball" approach and Australia's more methodical batting could determine who prevails in the Ashes series beginning in Perth on Friday.

Conceived by head coach Brendon 'Baz' McCullum and championed by skipper Ben Stokes, England's gung-ho batting has reinvigorated test cricket with its implicit aim of making the five-day format more entertaining with positive results.

Stokes and his teammates have not always got it right, however, and have been criticised for being too reckless on several occasions.

Going by their aggressive batting in the single warm-up game against their second XI, England are not going to abandon the trademark aggression, even if they may tailor it to match the situation.

Joe Root may not personify 'Bazball' - that honour goes to Harry Brook - but it is his reassuring presence in the middle order that allows openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley to go hard at the bowling from ball one.

One of the finest batters of his era and second only to Sachin Tendulkar in career test runs scored, Root is still searching for his maiden test hundred in Australia.

Stokes, though, was crystal clear about what he wanted from England's batting mainstay over the next two months.

"He's the greatest English batter that the nation's seen," Stokes said.

"He's been in phenomenal form over the last two, three years. And in his words, he's not come out here to score 100s in Australia. He's come out here to contribute to his team."

POPE AT THREE

Ollie Pope may have retained his number three slot with scores of 100 and 90 in the warm-up match but can expect sterner tests on bowler-friendly tracks Down Under.

Brook's flamboyance and Stokes' counter-punching could prove match-defining for