Bazball stands vindicated once again, despite England's defeat in 1st Ashes Test
When the England Test side first unveiled their new style of playing – now deemed ‘Bazball’ – it seemed incredibly audacious. The arrival of Brendon McCullum as coach and the appointment of Ben Stokes as the captain had come after a prolonged period of poor results in the longest format for the English team.
However, their fearless and almost heretical form of playing the game, especially their no holds barred method of batting, was so defiant of Test norms that it couldn’t be expected to last.
England whitewashed the then World Test Champions New Zealand at home with this method in the first trial of this new style. They then pulled off an improbable chase of 378 in the fourth innings of a Test against India.
When, in the first Test of their next series, against South Africa at home, the English team suffered a heavy defeat – by an innings and 12 runs – it seemed Bazball had finally run out of luck.
The fact that England was bowled out for 165 and 149 in both innings of that Test against a very good Proteas pace attack was seen as an example of the limitations of this method of playing.
Articles were written and analysis done saying that England need to moderate their carefree and ultra-aggressive style of batting with some common sense. However, England fought back to win the next two Tests and the series. Bazball emerged unscathed from the first real challenge to its validity.
Then came the incredible 3-0 whitewash of Pakistan in Pakistan. On the most placid pitches imaginable, the English team produced a lion-hearted effort to earn an incredible win. Bazball was as strong as ever.
The next series in New Zealand saw England registering another big win in the first Test and losing the second by the slimmest-possible margin – one run.
Loss in 1st Ashes Test brings back critics of Bazball
With all these results in the bag, there was very little that could be said against this adventurous mode of playing adopted by Stokes' men. A side that was suffering defeat after defeat was transformed, seemingly overnight, into a rampant, unstoppable force.
However, after the narrow loss in the first Ashes Test, voices of disapproval again came to the surface. The fact that McCullum expressed pride in his team’s performance despite the loss hasn’t rubbed the English cricket aficionados the right way.
Once again, it’s being proffered that England is giving up sensibility in pursuit of thrill. Some have even suggested that Ben Stokes’ team is more interested in entertaining fans rather than winning.
The declaration on the first day by Stokes was bound to come back and haunt the home team if the match was decided by a small margin – and it did. But it just wasn’t that. Suddenly, there are more castigating remarks being made about Bazball than before.
The reality of England's performance
Now, consider this fact: If it wasn’t for Jonny Bairstow’s dropped chances and a wicket of a no-ball for Stuart Broad, England would have had a big first-innings lead. Add to that the dropped catches towards the end of the game and its clear that England should have won this game.
The critics of Bazball are overlooking the fact that Australia won by a small margin and riding their luck. This result is certainly not sufficient ground for criticizing England’s no-step-backwards approach.
In fact, when one looks at the match, he realizes that it was this new-found air of self-confidence that allowed England to play well. Prior to the arrival of the McCullum-Stokes partnership, England’s batting had become notorious for its fragility.
Now, in the latest Test, England was 176/5 and looked in real danger of collapsing to a low score. But the Yorkshire pair of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow kept playing in their usual proactive manner, not taking a backward step. As a result, England easily reached close to 400 towards the end of the day’s play.
This sort of counter-attacking recovery would not have been possible in the previous era. The fact that Root and Bairstow didn’t crumble under pressure and kept going is a testament to the enervating effect of the Bazball philosophy.
The robust approach was also visible in England’s bowling. Despite James Anderson not being very effective and the pitch lacking much help, England didn’t despair. They gave themselves a chance of winning, one that they almost seized.
So, this Test certainly didn’t present a case against Bazball, actually, it vindicated it. England got the better of New Zealand, South Africa, and India at home and Pakistan and New Zealand away playing this style. Facing the World Champions Australia with, arguably, the best bowling attack was the biggest challenge yet. And England came tantalizingly close to winning.
The fact that this shed-all-fear-and-charge-forward approach of England nearly won them a Test against the Aussies also should again silence the critics. In fact, the critics haven’t got much of an opportunity to complain. Attacking the McCullum-Stokes regime after a very narrow loss is not justified.
Bazball has proven to be more than a flukey success. It has a substantial record that has given England one of its most successful runs in Test cricket in recent years. This series may yet go wrong as cricket is a very unpredictable game. But as of now, Bazball remains validated and triumphant.