England opener Zak Crawley has declared Bazball “winds up” Australia while claiming their Ashes rivals are the ones who keep talking about a “moral” victory.

This summer’s series will be the first since the controversial 2-2 tie in England two years ago, headlined by the Jonny Bairstow stumping incident at Lord’s.

Crawley declared in The Times his team had shown India they’re “not just nice guys” any more and they would need to repeat that in Australia.

Watch The Ashes on FOX CRICKET, available on Kayo Sports | New to Kayo? Join now and get your first month for just $1.

“Bazball really winds them up, doesn’t it?” Crawley declared.

“Which is great. If they get wound up, then that’s better for us.

“All that stuff after the last series, talking about ‘the moral Ashes’ after what happened with Jonny Bairstow, that was just a consequence of us drawing the series.

“In my eyes, if they’d won, they would never have said it, so it’s a compliment that they felt the need.”

Crawley’s comments are confusing given the English were the ones who first talked about a “moral victory” in the 2023 series.

Leading into the fifth Test, his teammate Harry Brook declared: “We were dominating the game last week weren’t we? So if the game had played out, I would like to think we would have won that.

“So if we can win this week, it almost can make it a moral victory.”

Crawley himself declared to the press a 2-2 result “would be fair”.

Australians have made fun of the English for their strange comments ever since.

The Grade Cricketer jokingly asked Mitch Marsh how it felt having “lost the Ashes, morally”, to which he replied: “Yeah, I think any time you lose an Ashes series 5-0, it’s always tough to take.

“Them being the greatest side to ever play Test cricket, 5-0 was probably fair.”

Pat Cummins quipped: “It was a thumping, morally.”

Zak Crawley of England batting during Day Three of the LV= Insurance Ashes 5th Test Match between England and Australia at The Kia Oval on July 29, 2023 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)Source: Getty Images

The English have claimed their poor behaviour against India was an example of the attitude they’ll bring to the Ashes this summer.

“Jonny Bairstow always said, ‘You’ve got to stick your chest out against Australia’. And I think he’s right, even if that’s not your personality, you’ve got to show them,” Crawley said. “They’re very competitive, they’re very good at cricket, and they’re in your face and want to get on top of you.

“So it’s important to stand up for yourself and I feel like we showed in the India series we’re not just nice guys who are going to roll over. That’ll be important in Australia, to front up at times. And I like that side of it.”