“It’s one of the worst things I have ever heard" - Andrew Flintoff on England's newfound 'Bazball' tag
Former cricketer Andrew Flintoff is not a huge admirer of the 'Bazball' tag given to England's new brand of cricket. Envisioned by head coach Brendon McCullum and enforced by skipper Ben Stokes, the unabashed, aggressive style of play has brought the side success, with only a solitary defeat under their reign so far.
England introduced 'Bazball' to the world in their ruthless 3-0 series win over New Zealand a couple of months ago. The side continued to stick with their approach, which gave them a series-leveling win over India in the rescheduled fifth Test. While they faced a heavy defeat against the Proteas in the first Test, they are in pole position to win at Old Trafford.
"The Stokes-McCullum Effect"
- Michael Atherton
I like that much better than #Bazball to be honest
#EngvsSA
Making his feelings clear about 'Bazball', Flintoff said in an interview with i News:
“It’s one of the worst things I have ever heard. I’m not interested in that. They’re just playing an exciting brand of cricket that everybody loves watching.”
England Test head coach Brendon McCullum, the inspiration behind the monicker, has himself admitted that he is not a huge fan of the term himself The former New Zealand cricketer believes that the term takes out all the work done behind the scenes to perfect the method.
"Good lad. He was due a few" - Andrew Flintoff on Ben Stokes registering his first century as captain
Ian Botham, Andrew Flintoff, Ben Stokes - the hierarchy order which every England fan is proud of. The nation has had the knack of producing top quality all-rounders, one of which is currently leading the Test team.
Following a bleak start with the bat since taking over the leadership role, Stokes finally had his moment when he struck a sublime hundred in the ongoing second Test against South Africa. The all-rounder scored 103 off 163 deliveries to help England post a mammoth first innings total at Old Trafford.
Yesterday's centurion reflects on the matches that made him the cricketer he is today.
Claiming that he does not know the current group of England players that well, Flintoff said:
"Good lad. He was due a few. I don’t know Ben. I don’t’ know many of the current crop. I retired at 31, which I felt was too soon. I was hoping to get a few more years out of it. I couldn’t be around it because I felt I should still have been playing and it hurt.”
Injuries forced the former all-rounder into an early retirement. However, he left behind a tremendous legacy which is still fondly remembered to this day.
Who is the better all-rounder between Ben Stokes and Andrew Flintoff? Let us know what you think.