England batsman Gary Ballance refuses to alter style despite Ashes axing
Wednesday 29 July 2015 21:13, UK
Gary Ballance insists he will not tinker with his batting style after being dropped for the third Investec Ashes Test at Edgbaston.
The 25-year-old was replaced by Yorkshire teammate Jonny Bairstow for the latest showdown with Australia after struggling for form at No 3.
He made a flying start to his Test career, scoring four centuries in his first nine matches, but his form has been wobbling since May with just one score over 50 in his last 10 innings.
Ballance, though, remains confident with the methods that led to him becoming the third fastest England player to score 1,000 runs in Grenada in April and brought him an average of 47.76 in 15 Tests.
"My whole career, it's how I've made runs. I don't think a few bad games should suddenly change things so I'm not changing anything," Ballance told the Yorkshire Post.
"When I was scoring runs, people were saying, 'that's a good technique. Suddenly, after two or three bad games for England, my technique is wrong, so I've just got to deal with that.
"Every cricketer has to deal with it, and it's a shame that's how it is sometimes. A lot of people are telling me I need to change, but what I've had, and what I've got now, is how I've got to playing for England in the first place."
Ballance told Sky Sports News HQ on Monday he had received assurances from the England selectors that he remained part of their plans.
He said: "I was obviously gutted for a few days, but I've cleared my head and hopefully I can look forward now.
"The selectors told me 'We still want you in our side, we want you in our thoughts. Just go away and score some runs.' Hopefully it'll be sooner than later that I get back in the side."
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