Ashes 2023: Can Bazball help England to make a comeback?

The Bazball term came into existence a little over a year ago, but since then, it has become a hot topic in the cricket fraternity. Bazball is a way for the England team to play aggressive cricket in Test matches. Aggressive cricket does not only mean playing high-risk rash shots by the batters. In the recently concluded first Ashes Test match, where Australia defeated England by two wickets, Bazball was seen more as an approach to making bold decisions.

Has Bazball already backfired for England?

England’s wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow was picked in the squad for his batting abilities but his struggle behind the stumps was quite evident. Bairstow dropped a few of the catches behind the stumps which proved to be very costly as Australia managed to defeat England by two wickets. Bairstow’s inclusion was one of the many blunders that England made due to their Bazball approach. 

Moeen Ali’s inclusion

Moeen Ali’s decision to reverse his retirement and comeback for the Ashes was a prime example of Bazball. Moeen played in the first match where he damaged his fingers while bowling off-spin. Moeen bowled 33 overs in the 2nd innings while he could only bowl 14 overs in the 4th innings. In the 4th innings, Joe Root had to bowl 15 overs. One of Root’s over was the turning point for the match as Pat Cummins hit two sixes in one of his overs to bring Australia back into the game. 

Moeen’s inclusion was criticised by many former cricketers and experts. The off-spinner was picked ahead of spinners playing in County Championship 2023. Former England batter, Mark Butcher reacted to Moeen’s comeback. Butcher said, “I’m slightly baffled by the whole thing. There’s a lot of hoping going on. Jack Leach is a holding bowler for Ben Stokes right? Moeen Ali has never been a holding bowler in his entire career and has not played any red-ball cricket for two years. His Ashes record is pretty bad with bat and ball, and he has had no interest in playing long-form cricket ever since his retirement.” He was picked ahead of players like Rehan Ahmed who had impressed on his debut in Pakistan. Butcher further said, “It’s not like you’re bringing Michael Jordan out of retirement, is it? You’re not bringing somebody back who had a Botham’s Ashes in 1981, you’re bringing back someone who’s kind of done okay at times, and those times were a very long time ago.”

Jonny Bairstow

Bairstow was picked for his batting prowess but his struggle with the gloves behind the wicket was evident. Ben Foakes had impressed many with his wicketkeeping abilities and was ignored for the squad of the first two Ashes matches as Bairstow was picked ahead of him. The only player in the squad who could keep wickets is Ollie Pope. 

Can Bazball help England to make a comeback in the Ashes?

Experts like Nasser Hussain believe that England does not need Bazball to defeat Australia. Nasser said on Sky Sports, “Remember, we’ve beaten Australia in England since 2001 playing the old-fashioned way – we didn’t need ‘Bazball’ to beat Australia.” England needs to win at least three matches to win the Ashes. A draw in the Ashes would mean that Australia would retain the trophy as they won the last series at home. 

Also Read: Does India need to stay away from all format players?

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