Ajay Aswal I [email protected]
Bazball style of cricket bounces back with the English victory in the third Ashes test. But earlier it was not so. A big question mark hung over Bazball. Back then, the Ashes scoreline of 2-0 in the favour of the Aussies, England’s sporting declaration going sour in the first test and a 43 run Aussie win in the second test seemed to point to the futilily of this so called Bazball strategy of England in test cricket. But a deeper look at the turn of events even then suggested exactly the opposite. It has been vindicated by the victory in the third test. Bazball is the informal name used by sports’ journalists for the style of play of English cricket team in red ball test matches ever since retired Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum took over as the head coach and Ben Stokes as the skipper of the test team, slightly over a year ago. The term Bazball which has its origins in Baz – the nickname of McCullum – was first conceived by ESPN Cricinfo UK editor Andrew Miller on a podcast.
Bazball refers to the totally unconventional use of high risk & high reward approach in test cricket. It is playing to one’s strengths (largely acquired through the shorter aggressive formats of the game) without any fear of the end result. McCullum and Stokes believe that the use of the term Bazball or Benball seem to incorrectly oversimplify the strategy of England as merely aggressive while it actually comprises of a large number of nuances and detailed strategies. But, clearly there has been an attitudinal change in the team ever since the New Zealand born attacking duo of McCulum and Stokes took over. The English success in most of the pre Ashes matches in the last one year (including the 378 for 3 chase against India) is here for everyone to see. Aggressive batting provided their pace battery sufficient time to pick up 20 wickets. But the loss of the first two Ashes tests had led many to question this approach.
It is not for the first time that batters are being aggressive in test cricket. Our very own Virender Sehwag holds the record for the fastest triple century in test cricket. His quick scoring used to provide sufficient time to our bowlers to scuttle out the opposition twice. There have been many such quick scorers in different teams. But the current English team stands out as the entire team has a different attitude rather than any particular individual alone. And of course Ben leads the pack emotionally from the front. For most oldies, there is a distinct charm in the defensive approach of test matches. But the excitement caused by Bazball even adds more charm to the mix of offence and defence even to a test cricket fan like me.
Coming to the current Ashes series, Ben declared on the very first day of the test series at 393 for 8 (despite a centurion Root being unbeaten at the crease) but lost eventually. In the second test, chasing a daunting 371, England fell short by 43 runs but they went down fighting. Never ever was there an attempt to try and merely save the matches. The last day of the second test at Lords was an exhilarating day of cricket as Stokes took his team to 300 for 6 after having lost 4 wickets at a paltry score of 45. Stokes hit an enterprising 155 with 9 sixes giving the Aussies the jitters. So much so that he moved from 78 to 100 in 4 balls with 4,6,6 and a 6 to reach his century.
When I had visited Lords stadium in 2017, I had been told about the various oddities of the ground like shorter boundaries and the slope of the ground. Stokes brilliantly used these different aspects of Lords like attacking more from one end. So, fearless was he that even Stuart Broad at the other end was seen charging to the pace of Mitchell Starc. Despite the chase being highly improbable, the audience was cheering each and every run and his fellow team members collaborating fearlessly. The complete lack of sportsman spirit that Australia displayed in the stumping of Johny Bairstow charged the English batsmen and also shifted the sympathy of neutral audience like us towards the English. Soon, the probability of England winning overtook that of Australia. But it was not entirely reckless hitting by Stokes. After the loss of wickets at the other end, he did conventional defensive blocking as well. He mixed it as the situation demanded. Even the tail went down fighting. On a large number of occasions, the medics rushed out to the ground checking for any concussion as the bouncers hit the helmets repeatedly.
Despite the loss, the spirit with which the English team attempted the chase lifted their spirits. And this had an impact on the outcome of the third test match. In the first innings, Stokes displayed valour with an 80 comprising five sixes to minimize the English lead. This valiant Bazball motivated the other teammates to go for the kill as well while chasing in the second innings. Mark Wood was fearless in both innings as was Brook and Woakes in the second. Despite the failure of the star trio of Root, Stokes and Bairstow in the second innings, the heroics of the youngsters saw them home. As they proved that Darr kea age jeet hai (Beyond fear, lies victory). This fearlessness seemed to dent the confidence of the recent test world champion Australia. Bazball or Ben Bazball, as I prefer to call it, is here to stay.
The author is a career civil servant and presently posted as Joint Secretary to Chief Minister, Rajasthan.
