Bazball is a cricketing term coined during the 2022 English cricket season. It commonly refers to the style of play of the England national cricket team after the appointments of Brendon McCullum (whose nickname is ‘Baz’) as Test cricket head coach, and Ben Stokes as England Test cricket captain, by English cricket managing director Rob Key, in May 2022. The Bazball style and mindset are said to have an emphasis on taking positive decisions in attack and defence, whether batting or in the field.
The term “Bazball” is often used to describe the England team’s aggressive and attacking style of play, which has seen them win ten of their 12 Test matches since McCullum took over as head coach. Bazball has been praised by some cricket pundits for its excitement and entertainment value, while others have criticized it for being too risky and unsustainable. However, there is no doubt that the England team’s new style of play has had a major impact on Test cricket, and it will be interesting to see how it develops in the series to come.
Bazball in the Ashes?
The Ashes is the biggest test for the Bazball style of play. Ben Stokes has reportedly asked for flatter pitches for the marquee test series against Australia. England’s red ball captain had asked the groundsmen in England to prepare fast and flat wickets which allows the hosts to score runs at an even quicker pace.
Stokes while talking to Sky Sports in an interview said, “We’ve been very clear, especially with the ground staff around England, about what type of wickets we want.” He further said, “They’ve been very responsive to us which has been good. We want fast, flat wickets. We want to go out there and score quickly. It brings their [Australia’s] guys in and if they’ve got fast wickets to bowl on then they’ll be happy with that as well.”
Stokes even expressed his desire to have multiple fast bowlers to choose from for every match. With Jofra Archer and Olly Stone already ruled out for the summer, the only express-pace bowler who can bowl at an excess speed of 90mph is Mark Wood. Wood will play an important role in the crucial 5-match series.
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Last time in the Ashes in Australia, England received a 4-0 thrashing. Furthermore, during Joe Root’s captaincy, England only won one game in the last 14 matches. Even though captain Root was unarguably their best batter during that time, the team had faced many losses and failed to score more than 300 in any innings in the Ashes.
Bazball entered with the appointment of Brendon McCullum as the test coach, appointing former English cricketer Rob Key as the managing director and Stokes was given the leadership of the red ball team.
This style of play has led to some great individual performances as well for example, Harry Brook has four centuries and three half-centuries in just six test matches. The astonishing fact is that these runs have come at a great pace as his strike rate currently is 98.78.
The biggest challenge for this English side is just around the corner as the first test is on 16th June. It will be interesting to see England’s approach during the series if they are put on the back foot by the Australian bowlers.
Also Read: The Ashes: Schedule, Venue and other details
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