Gary Neville has compared the current England cricket team and their Bazball style of play, to legendary Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson .

Bazball – instituted by and named after swashbuckling England coach Brendon McCullum – is about removing fear and playing with freedom , going against the more structured, traditional approach to Test cricket.

The tactic has seen some success, although it has also faced plenty of criticism for being recklessly gung-ho, and this winter’s Ashes tour to Australia will be an interesting litmus test.

And Neville, who was a talented cricketer in his youth before focussing on football, says the principles remind him of how Ferguson got his players to approach matches during Man United’s dominant era in the 1990s and 2000s.

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