Gerard Whateley says “it’ll be death” for Australian cricket if curators prepare flat batter-friendly pitches for the upcoming Ashes series.

Under cavalier coach Brendon McCullum, England have embraced an uber-aggressive style of play that favours flat pitches, which allow their batters to crush opposition bowling attacks.

They haven’t necessarily been a successful team overall, winning just 13 of their past 27 matches, but the kamikaze style — coined famously as ‘Bazball’, named after McCullum — has caught the eye of the world nonetheless and proven devastating at times.

Speaking ahead of the Ashes, McCullum admitted as much.

“When we’re confronted with good wickets, like flat wickets, I think we’re a very, very good cricket team,” he said.

“I think we play a high-octane style

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