Bazball Impact: From 75% Draws in Pakistan to 100% Results
England clinched their first Test Series victory in Pakistan after 22 years. They won the Multan Test by 26 runs to make it an unassailable 2-0 lead in the 3-match series. On pitches without much of an offering to pacers, their recently developed aggressive style of Test cricket, nicknamed 'Bazball', has produced favorable results. To everyone's surprise, the Multan Test finished on Day-4 in a country where it has been fairly difficult for England to reach results.
Pakistan has the highest percentage of drawn matches in Test Cricket history, with 47% matches ending in draws. Against England, the percentage is even higher. Prior to the current tour, England played 24 Test Matches in Pakistan, of which 18 ended up with a draw, i.e. 75% drawn Test Matches. However, the duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum have successfully managed to change that. Before their win in Multan, England had won the Rawalpindi Test by 74 runs.
Seemingly, these results are not entirely unthinkable for those who have followed England cricket over the last 7-8 months. England have yielded a result in all of their previous 10 Test matches since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took on their positions of captain and coach. During this period, they have been cruising safely, having won 9 matches and losing just one, and no draw so far. Ben Stokes has claimed multiple times that his team is only playing to entertain the crowd at the moment and does not want any draw matches.
England are aggressively attacking their opposition at every stage of the game, their new style of play termed Bazball by cricket pundits and fans. The term Bazball comes from coach Brendon McCullum's nickname 'Baz', and refers to his aggressive strokeplay during his playing days. India, New Zealand and South Africa have already experienced Bazball in action, and now Pakistan are also tasting it in their own backyard.
Bazball in PAKvsENG: England are scoring 5.83 RPO, 15 innings with 100+ strike rate
While England beat India, New Zealand and South Africa during their summer on their own grounds, everyone questioned the stability of Bazball on different tracks. Pakistan became the first host to experience it in the most unexpected of ways. England won the Rawalpindi Test by 74 runs, on a track where all the odds were favoring a draw. England posted a score of 657 on the board where 5 batters played with 100+ strike rate in the first innings. The second innings also saw 5 batters batting with 100+ strike rate before Ben Stokes called for a risky draw on a super-flat track. Even in the second Test, despite surrendering 7 wickets to debutant spinner Abrar Ahmed, England opted for a similar approach where three batters played with 100+ strike rate.
Since 1st June 2022, England has scored 4.77 runs per over, the highest in the world. Every other country except Australia (4.02) has scored less than 4 runs per over. Pakistan have experienced the most brutal version of Bazball yet, with England scoring a whopping 5.83 runs per over.
It is still too early to say whether Bazball proves to be the revolutionary strategy that changes the Test cricket format as we know it. Perhaps other teams will consider adopting this aggressive style of play after seeing England's success, especially in Pakistan. One thing is for certain: Bazball makes for some exciting cricket and England are making the most of it.