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[PICTURES] Will BazBall thrive in India?

Statpadder Inc said:
Ashwin has won 2 icc trophies.
Bumrah has 2 test series in Australia, something no pakistani fast bowling great has ever done
Ask most english fans if they would prefer a test series win in Australia or a wc win and they would overwhelming choose the former.
Stokes hasn't won a home ashes series
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They were part of the team that won those tournaments.

Stokes was the key key player in the final of the two trophies he won for England. He also singlehandedly won them tests including the epic ashes test. He drew in Australia 2-2 when the last two series England were blanked 4:0 and he would have won them the series by an innings had it not been for the rain.
 
Stokes is the perfect exemplar for those of us who have never been that bothered about stats. It’s the big game pedigree and overall impact of a player that defines their legacy.
 
India is batting first and the run-rate of 2.35 atm? Is this Dravid special like Draball?
 
India will win 4-1. The exact same scoreline as 2021 when England were playing an outdated, defensive brand of cricket.

England drew the home Ashes 2-2. The exact same scoreline as 2019 when England were playing an outdated, defensive brand of cricket.

The only reason why England managed to win two Test matches in 2023 was because Lyon got injured before the third Test. When he played, Bazball went for a hike.

Bazball this and that. It is a load of garbage.
 
Mamoon said:
India will win 4-1. The exact same scoreline as 2021 when England were playing an outdated, defensive brand of cricket.

England drew the home Ashes 2-2. The exact same scoreline as 2019 when England were playing an outdated, defensive brand of cricket.

The only reason why England managed to win two Test matches in 2023 was because Lyon got injured before the third Test. When he played, Bazball went for a hike.

Bazball this and that. It is a load of garbage.
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Not to mention the dodgy ball change at a crucial time when Khawaja and Warner looked like they were going to chase that 4th innings target on their own
 
Forum363 said:
They were part of the team that won those tournaments.

Stokes was the key key player in the final of the two trophies he won for England. He also singlehandedly won them tests including the epic ashes test. He drew in Australia 2-2 when the last two series England were blanked 4:0 and he would have won them the series by an innings had it not been for the rain.
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Single handedly won tests?

Which test matches are you talking about? Can you share a list?
 
Former England Captain Alastair Cook, while speaking to TNT Sports:

"This is the effect of Bazball."

"I can't remember an Indian side ever, with the last four or five overs to go of the third evening, not having any catchers round the bat to their spinners - even once they'd got Duckett out."

"Not to have a short-leg or silly-point, it's almost mind-boggling the effect Bazball has on the opposition. Sides are so scared of the rate at which they're scoring, they're not doing it."

"No other side has got anywhere near chasing this total in the sub-continent and yet we're talking about there being a small possibility - and only because of what Ben Stokes has drilled into his side."
 
Joe Root’s innings, and dismissal, illustrates exactly what is wrong with Bazball.

Remember that he is arguably England’s greatest Test batsman at least in the post war era.

His peak is going down the drain because he is playing under captain and a coach that are, for a lack of better word, suicidal mavericks.
 
The Bazball approach cost England this match.
England crossed the 300-run mark only once in a total of 4 innings on batting pitches.

England could have won if they focused on building partnerships instead of throwing wickets by applying the Bazball approach.

Root is trying hard to hit the ball, he is playing like a headless chicken, Bazball is not his cup of tea :bm
 
So far pitches suited their bazball approach somewhat. One was very slow. Other one hardly offered any turn. They haven't run into a real typical turner yet. Rajkot is a flat bed.
 
I think the Bazball hype is overwhelming commonsense.

In the end, that was a pretty regulation fourth innings win by India and no one apart from Crawley made more than 50.

If you analyse the England innings it was a litany of loose shots, inappropriately timed aggression and general poor decision making.

Im sure certain fans find it entertaining, but it’s not the way to win.

When England won in 2012, Alastair Cook scored over 550 runs at an average of 80 odd. Everyone remembers KP’s innings at Mumbai but the rock of the batting was Cook - the most unBazball player ever.
 
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jnaveen1980 said:
So far pitches suited their bazball approach somewhat. One was very slow. Other one hardly offered any turn. They haven't run into a real typical turner yet. Rajkot is a flat bed.
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If India want to win the series they should play on good wickets not rank turners.
The latter allows the far inferior English spinners to come into the game — on good wickets the considerable superiority of Ashwin, Kuldeep etc would prevail and Hartley, Bashir would be taken apart.

Rank turners become a lottery, with the toss often crucial — India are the far better side in home conditions.
 
gibsyhesperis said:
I think the Bazball hype is overwhelming commonsense.
In the end, that was a pretty regulation fourth innings win by India and no one apart from Crawley made more than 50.
If you analyse the England innings it was a litany of loose shots, inappropriately timed aggression and general poor decision making.
Im sure certain fans find it entertaining, but it’s not the way to win.

When England won in 2012, Alastair Cook scored over 550 runs at an average of 80 odd. Everyone remembers KP’s innings at Mumbai but the rock of the batting was Cook - the most unBazball player ever.
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This seemingly worked because they are up against one of the weakest Indian batting line up. A typical powerful Indian batting line up on these sort of poitches would rake up 500/600 easily against this kind of bowling attack. India also played bazball and lost the game. They all perished holing out in the deep in the first innings of first test.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
The Bazball approach cost England this match.
England crossed the 300-run mark only once in a total of 4 innings on batting pitches.

England could have won if they focused on building partnerships instead of throwing wickets by applying the Bazball approach.

Root is trying hard to hit the ball, he is playing like a headless chicken, Bazball is not his cup of tea :bm
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Painful to watch one of the greatest Test batsmen in history hacking away because he is being forced to play this way by his idiot captain and coach. He doesn’t deserve this.
 
jnaveen1980 said:
This seemingly worked because they are up against one of the weakest Indian batting line up. A typical powerful Indian batting line up on these sort of poitches would rake up 500/600 easily against this kind of bowling attack. India also played bazball and lost the game. They all perished holing out in the deep in the first innings of first test.
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Spot on — in both Tests in this series India should have batted England out of the game in the first innings.
Odd shot selection (maybe too much emphasis on scoring quickly) — Indian batting line-ups of the past would have made this English bowling line-up (Anderson excepted) pay.
 
Stokes and McCullum thought India is Pakistan. :klopp

This will end 4-1 to India and it will be a resounding defeat for Bazball which is a rubbish and unsustainable way of playing Test cricket.
 
Cover Drive Six said:
The Bazball approach cost England this match.
England crossed the 300-run mark only once in a total of 4 innings on batting pitches.

England could have won if they focused on building partnerships instead of throwing wickets by applying the Bazball approach.

Root is trying hard to hit the ball, he is playing like a headless chicken, Bazball is not his cup of tea :bm
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It's next to impossible to chase that target with Spinners all over you in India..Bazball is ideal for Indian pitches , it's either batsman or bowler under cooker situation..If you don't put bowler under pressure be ready to struggle under pressure..
 
kumjsr said:
Single handedly won tests?

Which test matches are you talking about? Can you share a list?
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Yeah. If I am not missing anything last time England came close to winning a test match in Australia, Ben Stokes was an Under 19 player.
 
So far, the BazBall batting approach is not working for England. It's really not working. To me, English batters seem confused and clueless, as if they have no plans for their actions.
 
Mamoon said:
Painful to watch one of the greatest Test batsmen in history hacking away because he is being forced to play this way by his idiot captain and coach. He doesn’t deserve this.
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Watch 375 chase at 5.5 rpo against India.
 
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Ahmed216 said:
Watch 375 chase at 5.5 rpo against India.
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Watch the Pakistan series, the Ashes and now the current series where this mad man approach has cost Root 3-4 centuries.

He is in the prime of his career and his prime is being wasted because this Bazball circus is not letting him bat the way he needs to bat in Test cricket.
 
I just want Joe Root to play his natural game, it serves England so much better. He doesn’t need to play like this, and it’s a waste of his talent when he does.

g0Unb3j.jpg
 
Mamoon said:
Watch the Pakistan series, the Ashes and now the current series where this mad man approach has cost Root 3-4 centuries.

He is in the prime of his career and his prime is being wasted because this Bazball circus is not letting him bat the way he needs to bat in Test cricket.
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Averaged 50 during the Ashes 😃Scored Centuries against Australia, India, NZ and an overall average of 50 under Stokes.
More importantly team has won a lot more. U have conveniently left out stokes first series as captain against NZ from your conversations
 
Ahmed216 said:
Averaged 50 during the Ashes 😃Scored Centuries against Australia, India, NZ and an overall average of 50 under Stokes.
More importantly team has won a lot more. U have conveniently left out stokes first series as captain against NZ from your conversations
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Average won’t tell you how he has been throwing his wicket away with needless aggression almost every series.

Why should I mention the first couple of series under Stokes when Root has been consistently throwing his wicket away with aggressive shots for over a year?
 
Mamoon said:
Average won’t tell you how he has been throwing his wicket away with needless aggression almost every series.

Why should I mention the first couple of series under Stokes when Root has been consistently throwing his wicket away with aggressive shots for over a year?
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So root averages 50 under root but his average doesn’t matter because he throws his wicket away?

How do you know him playing carefully wouldn’t have led to him making less runs because he scored at a lower strike rate?

But no, push your agenda. Root is a weak character but an incredibly talented batsman. He is doing as well as his capacity.
 
Forum363 said:
So root averages 50 under root but his average doesn’t matter because he throws his wicket away?

How do you know him playing carefully wouldn’t have led to him making less runs because he scored at a lower strike rate?

But no, push your agenda. Root is a weak character but an incredibly talented batsman. He is doing as well as his capacity.
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He has been averaging 40 in last 16 tests under Stokes after that chase of 378 v India.

His performance is certainly going down under Stokes' captaincy.
 
I said before this series that the English batting has often failed in India via the approach of prodding and poking around, and it would be interesting to see how Bazball played out in comparison to this.

Well, last time England toured India, their second innings were 178, 164, 81 and 135. This time so far they are 420 and 292.

Bazball in these conditions, for England with the players they have, has not been perfect, but overall has been an improvement so far.

The style of play is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I understand why, but the win percentage and W/L ratio are so good in comparison to what almost any England Test side in the modern era has ever produced before, that the results are speaking for themselves, and it’s difficult to argue against.

(It’s also notable how often this England side takes 20 wickets, ie in most Test matches, even in some of the defeats - including this one. The bowling is part of Bazball as well.)
 
kumjsr said:
He has been averaging 40 in last 16 tests under Stokes after that chase of 378 v India.

His performance is certainly going down under Stokes' captaincy.
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And I can quote a sample size for every player in the team under different captions and in a specific subset of 15 games.

What’s the point.

If this isn’t Root’s game he needs to be man enough to play the way that suits him. He’s not some rookie player who is afraid of being dropped. He’s the most set player in the team with complete security for his position.

Stokes doesn’t force anyone to play ant a specific strike rate. It’s a culture and a mindset which root himself has bought into. You don’t need to be reckless to score at a 70-80 strike rate. If he’s unable to know his limitations and not lose his wicket that’s his problem.
 
Forum363 said:
If this isn’t Root’s game he needs to be man enough to play the way that suits him. He’s not some rookie player who is afraid of being dropped. He’s the most set player in the team with complete security for his position.

Stokes doesn’t force anyone to play ant a specific strike rate. It’s a culture and a mindset which root himself has bought into. You don’t need to be reckless to score at a 70-80 strike rate. If he’s unable to know his limitations and not lose his wicket that’s his problem.
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Inclined to agree with this. And I am a big, big fan of Joe’s batting. He is a very experienced player and an ex captain. He should just play his natural game and stop trying to be someone else.

That’s what Bazball is supposed to be about - not just relentless attacking, but players being themselves and not worrying about the consequences. If being ultra aggressive is their natural game and it comes off (eg Bairstow), then Bazball has worked for Bairstow, but if there is an innings of 196 from Pope played in his own quirky and fidgety cross batted fashion, then Bazball has worked equally well there for Pope as well.
 
James said:
Inclined to agree with this. And I am a big, big fan of Joe’s batting. He is a very experienced player and an ex captain. He should just play his natural game and stop trying to be someone else.

That’s what Bazball is supposed to be about - not just relentless attacking, but players being themselves and not worrying about the consequences. If being ultra aggressive is their natural game and it comes off (eg Bairstow), then Bazball has worked for Bairstow, but if there is an innings of 196 from Pope played in his own quirky and fidgety cross batted fashion, then Bazball has worked equally well there for Pope as well.
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Exactly. And this style of playing your natural game has worked wonders for the likes of Pope, Bairstow et all.

You’re telling me a calibre of player that Joe Root is, is being pressurised into playing reverse sweep shots against fast bowlers?

No - he does that because that’s how he’s choosing to express himself. If a veteran of the game is playing a different way because of his junior captain, then he has to look at himself.

But the truth is that’s not the case. England are winning. Root is enjoying batting without the pressure of trying to force himself into a captaincy role he was never suited for. And he has bought into the culture of playing positively and without fear. For him that translates into more innovative shot making which he is trying.

The critics of stokes are struggling to find faults now so they have to nitpick at any small detail for validation and to avoid the embarrassment of accepting their bold predictions of Stokes being awful and quitting have left them resolutely with egg on their face.

England are winning. That’s all that matters.
 
Root should play his natural game. He has enough defensive game and class to not just rely on hitting all the time. If he bats entire day then Eng will get a bigger totals.
 
Interestingly, as predicted by Anderson, inning lasted 60-70 overs. Wicket was actually pretty good to bat.
 
James said:
I said before this series that the English batting has often failed in India via the approach of prodding and poking around, and it would be interesting to see how Bazball played out in comparison to this.

Well, last time England toured India, their second innings were 178, 164, 81 and 135. This time so far they are 420 and 292.

Bazball in these conditions, for England with the players they have, has not been perfect, but overall has been an improvement so far.

The style of play is not everyone’s cup of tea, and I understand why, but the win percentage and W/L ratio are so good in comparison to what almost any England Test side in the modern era has ever produced before, that the results are speaking for themselves, and it’s difficult to argue against.

(It’s also notable how often this England side takes 20 wickets, ie in most Test matches, even in some of the defeats - including this one. The bowling is part of Bazball as well.)
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Proper cricket is designated natural players scoring quickly. Few guys playing sensibly. That is the best way. Everyone trying to play the same way won't last. It purely depends on form of players. When in form you can connect everything. Crawley may struck a bad patch at some point.
 
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I think there is more room for nuance. Zak Crawley is a terrible defensive batsman but he can get on top of the bounce and has long levers and power - so he should bat aggressively and there's merit in that.

But yeah, Root batting like that in all conditions just looks ugly. He actually has a good technique so why change his approach especially on these kinds of wickets?
 
When batmen don't care about result and play Test match like T20, it's called bazzball. Law of averages kicks in and results are all over the place.
 
If Stokes is better than Ashwin/Bumrah then

Zak > Waqar and Akhtar
Gambhir > Yousuf

Stokes is a good player who has won occasional clutch matches for England but even Travis Head has done the same too. This won't make Travis Head a better ODI batsman than Babar Azam.
 
Indian spinners averaged 40 with the ball this test, so looks like bazball has improved vs the spinners.

Agree that bazball doen't suit Root, he is throwing away alot of precious runs.
Eng also desperately need Brook for Bairstow, who looks out of form
 
England if they play defensively they may draw or win a test with someone like root scoring big century but with Bazball they are competing in series for real ..Indian spinners not challenged in home conditions for many years are out of place now ..They need to device new strategy to come on top ..anyway series will be interesting to watch..
 

Use your brain: Geoffrey Boycott slams Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum's Bazball approach after Vizag Test defeat.​



Former England player Geoffrey Boycott came out with harsh criticism against England after their 106-run defeat against India in the 2nd Test at Vizag on February 5, Monday. Boycott slammed the England team for their loss and deemed it a failure of their 'Bazball' approach. He reckoned that there is no glory in failure and suggested the team to play according to the situation.

India bounced back in the 2nd Test after facing a 28-run defeat against a Bazballing England in the 1st Test in Hyderabad. England had a mountain to climb on Day 4 of the Test as they were chasing a record total of 399 runs. Zak Crawley, with his 73-run knock, was the standout player in the 4th innings for England. But the Indian bowlers kept chipping away with wickets on a track that was not doing much for them. Ben Stokes had revealed that the team had backed themselves to chase down the huge 4th innings total with their positive approach.

The batters also adopted an aggressive route, with Joe Root playing attacking cricket from the word go. The batters found themselves trapped due to poor shot selection, coupled with some lazy running between the wickets that cost them the game. However, England managed to score 292 runs, which is the second-highest 4th innings total by a visiting team in India.

Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are besotted with attack, attack, attack. It's as if they say 'if we can't win, we will go down in glorious failure instead.' But there is no glory in failure or defeat," Boycott wrote in his column on The Telegraph.

"Bazball is great entertainment when it comes off. But once you believe in an ideal over substance, then you have lost the plot. Today England gave the match away. Bazball was a failure."

England's every batter except for Stokes and Shoaib Bashir had a strike rate of over 55 in the 4th innings. Boycott slammed Root for giving away his wicket to a bad shot, knowing how crucial his role could have been in the chase.

"Scoring at five an over was entertaining but too many batsmen gave their wickets away after good starts. The best way to achieve a total of nearly 400 is by one of the batsmen scoring a big hundred. Looking to go after good bowlers and scoring quickly comes with risk. Bazball cost Joe Root his wicket. As soon as he came in, he was dancing down the pitch trying to hit it over the top and very soon swiped it up in the air. He only scored 16. England's best technical batsman is normally a busy player who scores at a good rate, but trying to go after the bowling as soon as he comes in takes him out of his comfort zone," Boycott wrote.

Boycott reckoned that the England team tried to play T20-style cricket in a Test and that led to their downfall in the match. He asked the team to use some common sense and play as per the circumstances.

"Twenty20 cricket seems to have got in their head and made them think that every ball must be scored off with an aggressive stroke, sweep, swipe or cross-batted shot. Twenty20 is cricket's answer to baseball, where you attempt a big hit every time. England's batting resembled Twenty20."

"But why can't our team play positively and with common sense? Batting has always been about being able to adapt to the circumstances, whether that is conditions or the opponents. Pick your moments when to attack and defend," Boycott wrote.

https://www.msn.com/en-in/sports/cr...1&cvid=5884d6d05d3641e0b8c9956707fcd046&ei=75
 
"Bazball Cost Joe Root His Wicket": England Great Blasts Ben Stokes, Brendon McCullum

The high-flying 'Bazball' was brought down to the ground by the Indian cricket team as Rohit Sharma's men secured a 106-run triumph against England in the second Test of the 5-match series in Vizag. Chasing a target of 399 runs in the second innings, England hit self-destruct as many batters departed while trying to score runs quickly. The lack of patience in batters saw wickets falling at regular intervals, prompting criticism from one of England's greatest players ever, Geoffrey Boycott.

In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott slammed the 'Bazball' approach, suggesting there's no glory in defeat.

"Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are besotted with attack, attack, attack. It's as if they say 'if we can't win, we will go down in glorious failure instead.' But there is no glory in failure or defeat," Boycott wrote.

"Bazball is great entertainment when it comes off. But once you believe in an ideal over substance, then you have lost the plot. Today England gave the match away. Bazball was a failure."

Giving the example of Joe Root, who departed for just 16 runs while trying to score an audacious stroke, Boycott condemned the ultra-attacking approach that cost England the wicket of its most technically sound batter.

"Scoring at five an over was entertaining but too many batsmen gave their wickets away after good starts. The best way to achieve a total of nearly 400 is by one of the batsmen scoring a big hundred. Looking to go after good bowlers and scoring quickly comes with risk. Bazball cost Joe Root his wicket. As soon as he came in, he was dancing down the pitch trying to hit it over the top and very soon swiped it up in the air. He only scored 16. England's best technical batsman is normally a busy player who scores at a good rate, but trying to go after the bowling as soon as he comes in takes him out of his comfort zone," Boycott wrote.

"Twenty20 cricket seems to have got in their head and made them think that every ball must be scored off with an aggressive stroke, sweep, swipe or cross-batted shot. Twenty20 is cricket's answer to baseball, where you attempt a big hit every time. England's batting resembled Twenty20."

Though there are no signs that England will alter their approach in the coming matches, Boycott is hoping for matters to be dealt with using more 'common sense'.

"But why can't our team play positively and with common sense? Batting has always been about being able to adapt to the circumstances, whether that is conditions or the opponents. Pick your moments when to attack and defend," Boycott wrote.

SOURCE: https://sports.ndtv.com/india-vs-en...great-geoffrey-boycott-blasts-bazball-5002747
 
If you compare both sides India played more ridiculous shots in this series than England. Iyer literally threw away his wicket 3 times. Gill a couple of times. Jaiswal a couple of times.
 
Ian Botham spoke in great detail about England's ‘Bazball’ approach and how it has benefitted Test cricket.

Renowned former English all-rounder Ian Botham believes that England's adoption of an aggressive 'Bazball' strategy, spearheaded by Ben Stokes, has injected a fresh life into Test cricket. England are currently on a Test tour of India and registered a win in the opening match of the series before conceding a 107-run loss in the second.

Following the appointments of Brendon McCullum as head coach and Stokes as captain, England underwent a significant transformation in their approach to the traditional format. This new era has seen England revolutionising their Test cricket approach, embracing a bold and dynamic style of play reminiscent of McCullum's captaincy reign with New Zealand.

Botham believes that the ‘Bazball’ style of play is also attracting the Indian crowd to Test matches.

“You just have to look at the crowds. The crowds are now starting to come back to Test cricket,” Botham told '

“Playing against India 20-30 years ago in India, the grounds were heaving. Suddenly, the IPL came along and so did one-day cricket and the crowds then plummeted. People are now coming back and wanting to see (Bazball)."

There has been an impressive fan turnout across both Tests in Hyderabad and Visakhapatnam so far. In fact, over 32,000 fans attended the first Test in Hyderabad, setting a new record for Test attendance at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium.

It is worth highlighting that there was remarkable attendance during India's Test series against Australia last year, too. Tickets for the Tests in Delhi, Indore, and Ahmedabad were sold out.

Further commenting on ‘Bazball’, Botham insisted that the aggressive approach has reaped rewards for the English team in addition to entertaining the fans.

"You are entertainers at the end of the day and if you want people to come to the games, you have to entertain. They don’t want to see someone score 1.2 runs per hour, you want to see guys just boss the game.

“You are going to lose one or two games here or there but England have played 15 and won 12. England sells out games across all five days now which was just unheard of.

“Test cricket is now healthier than it has been for a long time,” said Botham who took 383 wickets and scored 5200 runs from 102 Tests between 1977 and 1992.

SOURCE: The Hindustan Times
 
Geoffrey always enjoys aggressive batters when they don’t play for England and will make excuses for them when they get out in careless fashion, for example he used to love watching Afridi; but when England players lose their wickets cheaply or select the wrong shot he is instantly all over them. Has always been the case.

He tends to write about Bazball positively when England win & write about it negatively when England lose. A Yorkshire great, but he has become a bit of a fickle columnist recently.
 
sindhiboy said:
Indian spinners averaged 40 with the ball this test, so looks like bazball has improved vs the spinners.
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(y)


sindhiboy said:
Eng also desperately need Brook for Bairstow, who looks out of form
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I agree, although @RexRex made a great point that Bairstow can get a bit dozy and sometimes needs a spark to fire him up in order to perform at his best - he is only highly motivated when he is trying to prove someone wrong - whereas in this series so far the opposition haven’t been giving him stick and he also hasn’t been under pressure for his place, which are usually the triggers. But one of those two events comes to fruition before he gets dropped for Brook, and there’s a decent chance that Jonny comes up with a big score.
 
Run rate of 3.88 so far by the Indian side in the 3rd test. Bazball or no? IMO they lost wickets on such a flat track where the batters should have dominated but 3 wickets down for 63 is not good at all.
 
On such pathetic pitches baseball can be played here not the bazball where at least you don't have to pitch the ball on the ground.
 
England fans are feeling a bit nervous about the next couple of days. This is a very flat pitch and England need to make big first innings runs in order to stay in this game. They will approach their task aggressively as per their team identity and what has often worked for them in the past, which is fine, but if they play a series of poor shots and fall for 250ish again (would be the third 1st innings in a row if so), instead of the 500 that they need, this will be another loss.
 
Regardless of the result of this series, I think one thing we can count on is that it will be an entertaining series because England will go out there and play fearless and attacking cricket.

It surprises me how certain people still have the gall to call this strategy rubbish when the evidence and the results obviously suggest otherwise.

What England are doing here with Bazball is something amazing. Every so often teams come around in every sport that rip up the textbook and change the way the game is played. And that's exactly what England are doing. This is exactly what test cricket needed.
 
My observations from this team and test cricket in India.

If a team is batting first, they need to bat long in India to maximize advantage and ensure that other team gets max score to chase on day 5 pitch.

If a team is batting 2nd, strategy of scoring quickly is helpful as it allows teams to score most of the runs in good conditions. Batting long means facing scenario when pitch starts helping spinners.
 
RedwoodOriginal said:
Regardless of the result of this series, I think one thing we can count on is that it will be an entertaining series because England will go out there and play fearless and attacking cricket.

It surprises me how certain people still have the gall to call this strategy rubbish when the evidence and the results obviously suggest otherwise.

What England are doing here with Bazball is something amazing. Every so often teams come around in every sport that rip up the textbook and change the way the game is played. And that's exactly what England are doing. This is exactly what test cricket needed.
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Well said. However its important to add that they don't just play fearless and attacking cricket. They play this brand of cricket successfully and execute well. Crawley was a walking wicket, Bairstow would get bowled every test match and Pope was a bit of a joke figure until Bazball. The players have upped their game and played out of their skin.

Credit to the philosophy but also credit to the players.
 
DeadlyVenom said:
Well said. However its important to add that they don't just play fearless and attacking cricket. They play this brand of cricket successfully and execute well. Crawley was a walking wicket, Bairstow would get bowled every test match and Pope was a bit of a joke figure until Bazball. The players have upped their game and played out of their skin.

Credit to the philosophy but also credit to the players.
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Absolutely. I think that's something that critics of this style of cricket miss. The most remarkable thing about it is the fact that it has empowered these players to break that mental block barrier. Regardless of the conditions, they go out there and back themselves to dominate the opposition and call the shots. And it's not like they are slogging blindly. They are just hitting more boundaries than every other team and playing far less dot balls.

Crawley is probably the poster child for this philosophy. I don't think there was anyone (myself included) who wasn't questioning his selection for over a year. But McCullum saw something in him and backed him wholeheartedly. And just look at the performances he has given since the Ashes.
 
So far, Indians have not given any rank turner. 3rd test pitch works for Eng by being so flat.
 
England are looking good for a win or a draw in 3rd Test.

Bazball is working in India.
 
This series has been a complete revelation. Bazball is not only working but flourishing in India.

There is no other option left for us rather than dishing out spin mamba's in next 2 test. Any other type of surface and Eng will have upper hand.
 
Rajdeep said:
This series has been a complete revelation. Bazball is not only working but flourishing in India.

There is no other option left for us rather than dishing out spin mamba's in next 2 test. Any other type of surface and Eng will have upper hand.
Click to expand...

I don't know why the English team has been given such wickets. Not one turning track.
 
Billion dollar industry wali team took inspiration from our very own Rambo regarding pitch preparation.
 
Rajdeep said:
This series has been a complete revelation. Bazball is not only working but flourishing in India.

There is no other option left for us rather than dishing out spin mamba's in next 2 test. Any other type of surface and Eng will have upper hand.
Click to expand...

cricketjoshila said:
I don't know why the English team has been given such wickets. Not one turning track.
Click to expand...

The first two pitches were excellent. This one is less so: it seems quite flat and average. Maybe not the best pitches for India so far, but some good pitches for Test cricket that are producing a closely competitive series.
 
Phenomenal stuff from Eng today, highly unlikely they will replicate this form tomorrow.
 
cricketjoshila said:
We don't know about Dharamshala. Why its hosting a test vs England is beyond me.
Click to expand...

Indian curators seems to be pretty friendly to England cricket team. Maybe that's why.

If England are 2-2 going into Dharamshala, there is every chance of them winning the series in final tests.
 
You gotta love the Ben Duckett's inning. He absolutely smashed every bowler that got in his way. Will he be able to carry the momentum today as well, I am not sure.
 
Can’t tell if this pitch is now getting more difficult or it’s just the usual tricky morning session that we have seen in this series, with India bowling particularly well. England will be hoping that things even out after lunch and they can pick up some more runs.
 
James said:
In before Mamoon posts to say that a win rate of 60+% in Tests is rubbish.
Click to expand...
Drew the home Ashes 2-2, largely thanks Lyon not being available for the third, fourth and fifth Tests. The exact same score line that England achieved under the defensive and outdated captaincy of Root in 2019 against a fully equipped Australian side.

En route to a 4-1 thrashing in India against a heavily depleted Indian team, the exact same score line that England achieved under the defensive and outdated captaincy of Root in 2021 against a superior Indian side.

Not to mention, that win in the 2021 series was one of the most dominant and powerful Test wins by England in India.

The Home Ashes and this Indian tour were the two biggest challenges for Bazball and it is failing with flying colors.

Surely if Stokes was the tactical genius who has reinvented Test cricket with his leadership and laid the marker for current and future captains, he should have been able to win in India against an Indian team that is struggling to field 11 players at this time and offering Test caps left right and center because of the unavailability of key personnel.

Bazball is a scam that has capitalized on beating underpowered and weak teams and has racked a lot of cheap wins but the wheels are coming off now.

The biggest achievement of Bazball is perhaps managing to destroy Root’s peak. He was the best Test batsman in the world in the 2021-22 period but in the last 12 months or so, they have managed to ruin him at a time when he should have been at the peak of his powers and racking up hundreds after hundreds like he did before this Bazball circus started.

Two ordinary Test batsmen, Stokes and McCullum, who can’t average 40 with the bat to save their lives, collectively decided that they could teach someone who is a better Test batsman than they could ever hope to be how to bat in this format. It is hysterical really.

Biggest achievements of Bazball so far:

(1) Beating India in the fifth Test in 2022 when India were without Rohit both as a batsman and as a captain. Bumrah was leading the Indian team who is not captaincy material and will most likely never captain a Test match again.

(2) whitewashing a hopeless Pakistan team in Pakistan. If you can’t beat Pakistan these days you don’t really deserve to play Test cricket.

What is all this hype for anyway? Bazball has clearly failed its two major assignments and have produced and are producing the exact same score line that they did the last time so there is no improvement.

The entertainment factor is rubbish anyway. What entertainment? Was Root’s shot entertainment?

Besides, those who don’t watch Test cricket will still not watch Test cricket because it takes multiple days to produce a result and they don’t have the time to sit and watch.

It has nothing to do with what your run rate is, how funky the field setting is and how many stupid shots you can hit to self-destruct.

Stokes and McCullum should be sacked after this tour and normalcy and sanity should be restored and allowed to prevail.

Bazball is a rubbish and unsustainable way to play Test cricket. Bazball will blow up in pieces and the traditional style of Test cricket will always survive and thrive.
 
Is there even a plan with bazball? Do they ever think how to take lead in first inning?

242, 253, 292, 319 in good batting condtions are below par scores.

India scored 329, 286, 145, 49/0, 365 on rank turners of last 3 tests in 2021 series. England is matching those scores with bazball on flat pitches as if no one is really planning to get to 400-500 scores.
 
Even for Bazball to flourish you need the aid of home pitches! So England will win their home matches with this approach, just like how India wins its home matches with rank-turners (if that's the way it is).

England probably developed this approach because 50% of the time in tests is lost due to rain, so to force result they probably developed a strategy. The same strategy probably took a different shape when they toured to other countries, the only way for them to prevail in alien conditions is to have attacking mindset with batting.... This is working in some ways. They are able to win odd matches in India (instead of whitewashes) and win matches in Pakistan (otherwise it will end up in draws with those ultra-flat pitches. So it works perfectly in places like Pakistan)
 
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