The fallout from England's criticism of India's batting approach at Old Trafford has reignited debate over Bazball's place in the modern game.
While England questioned Indian players for batting on to complete centuries in what they saw as a dead game, the discussion quickly shifted to England's tendency to present their aggressive style as the gold standard.
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Now, former Australia captain Ricky Ponting has weighed in on how that narrative is received across the cricketing world.
Ricky Ponting praises Bazball but calls for perspective
According to The Times, Ponting acknowledged that it's not Bazball itself that bothers Australian players or fans; it's the way it's sometimes positioned as being better than every other approach.
He said Australians have studied and even embraced elements of England's method since its introduction but constant comparisons can wear thin.
"I'm as Aussie as anyone and I love watching the way they play. The Aussies embraced it and learnt about it the last time they were here. They'll have an understanding now of what is a slightly more refined version of what England started a few years ago," Ponting told The Times.
Ricky Ponting feels Australia know England have tweaked Bazball
Ponting pointed out that Bazball has evolved since its early days.
"When it first started, it looked like Joe [Root] got carried away a bit. He changed his game. He's gone back to playing normally. Ollie Pope is naturally aggressive and scores pretty quickly. Stokes might have the lowest strike rate of all the batters since it began. Duckett and Crawley are the two leading the way," he added.
Ponting noted that tweaks were essential for Bazball to work consistently against the world's best.
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"So there's been some refinement, and against the best teams they needed it," he said.
The former skipper's comments suggest that while Australia respects England's attacking brand, it sees value in varied strategies - without the need to crown one approach as universally superior.