Discussing Bazball approach in Test Cricket

[TheGreatest]

I think whatever approach we take in S Africa, England will find it tough going because you have a top notch bowling attack.

Bazball isn't a magic remedy. You can't beat teams that have more talented players just by being positive.

Our batting is inconsistent because Root and Stokes apart, we lack quality players.

We have a batch of players - Crawley, Pope and Bairstow who have shown on occasions that they have alot of ability but they haven't shown it often enough.

Hopefully from an English point of view, McCullum can get them to produce more regularly.

Bazball won't hide the fact we don't have a top spinner or that our seam bowling can look pedestrian on unhelpful pitches. It won't make Archer and Wood any less injury prone.

Hopefully what it will do is make us a better team than we've been, particularly away from home.

Yes, this approach might get backfired against strong bowling attacks. It will definitely not work in India.

 

[TheGreatest]

I think whatever approach we take in S Africa, England will find it tough going because you have a top notch bowling attack.

Bazball isn't a magic remedy. You can't beat teams that have more talented players just by being positive.

Our batting is inconsistent because Root and Stokes apart, we lack quality players.

We have a batch of players - Crawley, Pope and Bairstow who have shown on occasions that they have alot of ability but they haven't shown it often enough.

Hopefully from an English point of view, McCullum can get them to produce more regularly.

Bazball won't hide the fact we don't have a top spinner or that our seam bowling can look pedestrian on unhelpful pitches. It won't make Archer and Wood any less injury prone.

Hopefully what it will do is make us a better team than we've been, particularly away from home.

But you know I like your team's aggressive mental approach. I wish we had that attitude because we do at times panic.

 

[TheJediBrah]

McCullum himself hates the term Bazball

lol

 

[RossTaylorsBox]

Haha yeah it's some fake humble **** that his PR team concocted, dude absolutely loves being the centre of attention.

 

[ataraxia]

Bazball might well come to pieces at the Basin tbh. It should continue working for the rest of this Pakistan tour (very funnily) and then maybe at the #ohsoflat Bay Oval. But any movement and... nah.

It is quite evidently not a long-term strategy, but there's still potential for some extra lolz. For example, scoring 506/4 (75) with four centuries on the first day of the first away test in the series. Decent, could be better. Need Jonny back.

Also yes to test cricket again, it's been a long time it feels.

 

[Arachnodouche]

I think most teams have been waiting for bazball to be shown up but it continues succeeding and making world-beaters of once ordinary batsmen (and who's to say they weren't simply misunderstood geniuses up till now). Not sure there's a way of countering it atm either, not with conventional or ethical tactics. And there's no way chronically insecure environments like the SC or WI will ever allow the philosophy to creep into their systems. At most, India will continue making turners at home but that's a risky bet considering the state of Indian batting and this sort of belligerence to contend with. Aus in Aus are a psychological hurdle but surely this lot despite carrying the same faces are as suited as any before to overcome that. The rest of the world is fair pickings honestly. You can't simply keep bragging about your superior bowling attacks when these guys have full license and don't give a **** about tradition, looking pretty, or reputation, the opposition's or their own. Whatever bazball is, it's fair to say it is a thing but for the time being peculiar only to England.

 

[CricAddict]

I think most teams have been waiting for bazball to be shown up but it continues succeeding and making world-beaters of once ordinary batsmen (and who's to say they weren't simply misunderstood geniuses up till now). Not sure there's a way of countering it atm either, not with conventional or ethical tactics. And there's no way chronically insecure environments like the SC or WI will ever allow the philosophy to creep into their systems. At most, India will continue making turners at home but that's a risky bet considering the state of Indian batting and this sort of belligerence to contend with. Aus in Aus are a psychological hurdle but surely this lot despite carrying the same faces are as suited as any before to overcome that. The rest of the world is fair pickings honestly. You can't simply keep bragging about your superior bowling attacks when these guys have full license and don't give a **** about tradition, looking pretty, or reputation, the opposition's or their own. Whatever bazball is, it's fair to say it is a thing but for the time being peculiar only to England.

Yes. I think England will employ this strategy everywhere they play, even in India and Australia. If it fails, it fails. But right now, it has been successful 9 out of 10 times or is it 10 out of 10. Credit to Stokes and Mccullum on bringing the change, though as a cricket lover, I wish that it fails and gets into the bin soon.

If tests become a 5 or 4 day limited over cricket, it will destroy tests just like now ODIs are getting destroyed.

 

[Aritro]

It's basically ODI batting and it's great when tests are played on ODI-style flat decks and they've got players who are fantastic at executing it. I don't think they're seriously planning on using it on livelier decks though, and it wouldn't work if they did. From what I've seen, they've played much more sedately when the pitch is doing a bit. And for that matter, it doesn't work in ODIs on lively decks either - those matches still tend to produce sub-250 scores.

 

[thierry henry]

Fully agree. And the way Eng is playing cricket atm it will soon become most of the people’s 2nd favourite team .

Ummm...why?

 

[CricAddict]

Fully agree. And the way Eng is playing cricket atm it will soon become most of the people’s most disliked team .

Corrected.

 

[Sunil1z]

If you feel Bazball won’t work only in IND/AUS then I would say Bazball is highly successful. No one is saying current Eng team as ATG . In fact they had won only 1 out of 13 tests against WI, NZ, IND and Ashes before Bazball approach.
And since the beginning of Bazball approach they have won 6 out of 7 . By any measures , Bazball is highly successful.

 

[subshakerz]

If you feel Bazball won’t work only in IND/AUS then I would say Bazball is highly successful. No one is saying current Eng team as ATG . In fact they had won only 1 out of 13 tests against WI, NZ, IND and Ashes before Bazball approach.
And since the beginning of Bazball approach they have won 6 out of 7 . By any measures , Bazball is highly successful.

BazBall is a calculated risk because England have enough hitters in their lineup to justify it.

 

[weeman27bob]

 

[Sunil1z]

It will definitely be successful against Australia because Pant already has employed this method against Australia at Sydney and Gabba . And England have 3 to 4 players who play as fast as Pant .

 

[thierry henry]

Also Pant is ****ing garbage so it all adds up really

 

[Lillian Thomson]

I can say without fear of indigestion that four mediocre batsman won’t make run a ball centuries on the first day of a Test against Australia.

 

[Sunil1z]

I can say without fear of indigestion that four mediocre batsman won’t make run a ball centuries on the first day of a Test against Australia.

In Australia Bazball approach more be suited after first 30 overs .

 

[Adders]

Trust me this approach by England will not work when they play in my country.

I seem to recall Stokes scoring a ridiculous 250 at Cape Town a few years ago, backed up by YJB. That must have been against a very decent SA attack.

 

[TheGreatest]

I seem to recall Stokes scoring a ridiculous 250 at Cape Town a few years ago, backed up by YJB. That must have been against a very decent SA attack.

SA were a struggling team then going though a transitional period. But with our current attack in SA....I bet you it's not possible.

 

[Nintendo]

"Bazball" isn't just about blind slogging, as others have mentioned. It's about freeing up the players to play there game and taking away the fear of failure, if anything. Lees turned from the stoggy, dogged defensive opener he molded himself into late career to the free flowing bat he was in his youth. If it was all about slogging foakes wouldn't have batted how he batted last summer. Will be interesting to see how the approach holds up when England inevitably start losing, but it's clearly had a MASSIVE positive impact on the group as a whole.