3 reasons why Bazball has a high chance of success during the India vs England Tests
Under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, England have taken the Test world by storm. Their aggressive approach, termed Bazball, has been one of the major talking points in cricket over the last two years.
In 18 Tests under the Stokes-McCullum pairing, England have won 13 and lost four. They have drawn just one, showing how result-oriented their strategies have been.
India are one of the most dominant sides at home and haven't lost a Test series in the subcontinent in over a decade. Interestingly, England were the last team to achieve the near-impossible, although they are a completely different side now. Stokes and company might be able to put up a much more meaningful fight than the sides who have toured India recently.
Here are three reasons why Bazball has a high chance of success during the upcoming India vs England Test series.
#3 It'll be something out of the box against a dominant Indian side
Plenty of teams have tried, and all of them have failed. In the last 12 years, no team has been able to challenge India's dominance at home, and even the best sides in the world have come up short.
Under Stokes and McCullum, England have adopted several out-of-the-box tactics. They have been creative with their bowling changes and field placements, and they've forced their opponents to counter unusual strategies.
Stokes hasn't been afraid to try things that might normally be considered silly, and most of the time, it has paid off. Early declarations and an emphasis on forcing a result have often seen oppositions fail to adapt on the fly.
Had England been any other team, they might not have been in the picture at all. But they're a surprise package that might just have the best chance of forcing something out of the ordinary.
#2 England's batting depth approach will help
Throughout the Bazball phase so far, England have relied on their batting depth to pull them through tough conditions. At one point, in Pakistan, they even had Liam Livingstone and Will Jacks, who are primarily T20 players, batting in the lower-middle order.
Things might not be as extreme these days, but England still rely on their lower-order batters to produce valuable runs. The likes of Mark Wood can use the long handle to great effect, and the visitors are unlikely to enter the contest with more than four specialist bowlers anyway.
On turning tracks in India, lower-order runs have proven absolutely vital. Ravindra Jadeja, Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel have bailed the two-time World Test Championship finalists out of tricky situations, and England might have the players to do the same.
#1 Attack might be the best form of defense on Indian turners
Defensive strategies have rarely proven to be effective on turners in India. At some point, a wicket-taking delivery will show up to undo all the good work that had been done previously.
Attack is often the best form of defense in India, and no team attacks more than Stokes and McCullum's England. Right from the top of the order, the English batters' primary focus is to find the boundary and keep the scoreboard moving. Even Joe Root, who has been a conventional batter for most of his Test career, has bought into the unorthodoxy.
England's approach to Test cricket, which has seen the best-ever scoring rate, might naturally be the best possible route during the upcoming five-match series against India.