England cricketers need to be sensible with Bazball revolution preaching
When you see criticism of Bazball – the style of cricket implemented in England by Test captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum – a lot of it is unfounded.
But even in a record loss, can anybody really say there’s an element of truth in suggesting India changed the way they played because they knew that England would always attack, attack, attack, regardless of the outcome?
Plenty bemoan England’s holier than thou approach; the suggestion that Bazball is the saviour Test cricket needs. They’re half-right.
The result in Rajkot on Sunday represented a seismic shift in the Bazball mentality. Gone are the assumptions that England can chase down any total, and gone are the suggestions that the tourists can at least attempt to try and find a way out of any hole.
This was the first time that an opposition team had declared against England in the Bazball era, such was India’s dominance. It was also the first time England had conceded 400 in both innings since 1948.
And it shouldn’t have been this way. A strong start to their first innings left England on 222-2 and flying in chase of a big initial India total.
England collapse
But following that aesthetically pleasing score on the board, India achieved total figures of 430-4 while England could muster just 219-18.
That’s the collapse, and that’s the moment that showed how far Bazball still needs to go in revolutionising cricket as England like to believe.
Whether Joe Root is allowed to play the style that saw him achieve some of the best statistics in the game remains to be seen, but he looks completely off the trajectory that had him billed as one of the greatest Englishmen to play the game.
A similar conundrum now befits Jonny Bairstow and whether he can keep his spot in the side given his poor performances – though Bazball ideology does suggest that they’ll back him to the hilt.
This may be a blip in Bazball – an uncharacteristically low fourth-innings total of 122 is the first of its kind under the current regime – but England would be wise to get off their high horse in suggesting they’re saving the game.
India’s dominance was the star of the Rajkot Test, and their continued dominance at home certainly has not been diluted by a Bazball psychology that just received its biggest ever shake down.
This cricket revolution is one fans should continue to back – the English game has never been so exciting – but it must be done sensibly, otherwise further humiliations will await.