"There are moments when you need to play old-fashioned cricket" - Owais Shah on whether England will look to persist with Bazball
Owais Shah reckons England will have to temper their 'Bazball' approach slightly to be successful in spin-friendly subcontinental conditions.
India defeated England by an innings and 64 runs in the final Test in Dharamsala on Saturday (March 9) to seal a convincing 4-1 series win. Although the visitors started the series with a win in Hyderabad, they were found wanting in the remaining four Tests.
During a discussion on Colors Cineplex, Owais Shah was asked whether England will look to persist with Bazball, especially in such conditions. He responded:
"We were very happy when England came to India and won the first Test match because before we came, a lot of people said that it was very difficult to beat India in India. It was a very famous victory and Ben Stokes said that it was his biggest victory."
"However, the way India came back in the series, although England had only success with Bazball before this, they will have to learn that they can use Bazball in certain moments in Test cricket, but there are moments when you need to play old-fashioned cricket," the former England batter added.
Ben Stokes and Jonny Bairstow proved to be letdowns with the bat for England, averaging 19.90 and 23.80 respectively in 10 innings apiece. Although Joe Root played a couple of substantial knocks in the last two Tests, his dismissal while attempting a reverse scoop off Jasprit Bumrah's bowling in Rajkot was potentially the turning point of the series.
"You can see how the opposition batted" - Owais Shah urges England to learn from India
Owais Shah urged England to learn from India's batting approach.
"This game has been played for centuries and teams have had success like that only. You can see how the opposition batted. The way India batted in India, they played slightly old-fashioned Test cricket, which is renowned as how a five-day Test match is played," he said.
The cricketer-turned-commentator added that Ben Stokes and company will have to incorporate some old-fashioned cricket into their ultra-aggressive approach.
"You will have to learn from that slightly and go to your kitchen and cook Bazball and that type of cricket, and give birth to a new product, so that England gets success again," Owais Shah stated.
England could look to learn from the likes of Yashasvi Jaiswal. The Indian opener scored 712 runs at a strike rate of 79.91 and hit 26 sixes during the series but was willing to bide his time and get acclimatized to the conditions at the start of his innings.