Muhammad Saad
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Other teams needs to catch up , England has revolutionise cricket batting in all formats of the game.
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The current England approach to batting is the new way to play cricket in all formats
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Muhammad Saad
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Timid and defensive batsmen are out of the game even in test cricket. Time to change the mindset otherwise we will lack behind them very far.
jnaveen1980
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Usually ENgland bowling attack is weak. You can also score against them. In English conditions due to experience they slightly outbowled opposition. Otherwise their bowling is also crap.
Buffet
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Ah, let's see what they do with this approach in Aus, Ind or SA.
Pakistani bowling is club level bowling to allow 500+ runs in 70 odd overs. On top top of that having flat pitch allowed Eng to keep scoring fast.
Pakistani bowling is club level bowling to allow 500+ runs in 70 odd overs. On top top of that having flat pitch allowed Eng to keep scoring fast.
Savak
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You need a fearless team management, captain, chairman and some ability to play like this.
SpiritOf1903
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Have England Revolutionised Cricket?
I think we've a fairly healthy sample size now to suggest England have created a brand new form of cricket that is going to be hard to stop
Similarly, Eoin Morgan might be the single most important person in English cricket history.
He came in, told England to be aggressive and they've not looked back in the Limited Overs format and now McCullum & Stokes have expanded the approach to Red Ball cricket.
Pakistan has been lagging behind anyway and this feels like they're playing parallel sports.
Australia and India have had aggression in the past but this from England is simply relentless with raw power throughout the team and new talent always being integrated.
India have recently shown similar counterattacking in Australia but that's a counterpunch akin to Bazball, a term that isn't widely popular but refers to counterattacking in adversity.
Pakistan still play what is Catenaccio in football, a Mourinho method invented by Italy to be defensive and win through limited errors and to have little invention relying on a collective effort with flashes of brilliance.
What England have done is introduced a Gegenpressing style; the German method of being relentlessly on the front foot and taking the game to the opposition, where you dictate play and force the error. It's also proven to be unsustainable but in the here and now, England will surely dominate for the foreseeable future and is this a brand of cricket never seen before or do Windies and Australia hold claim to previous iterations?.
I think we've a fairly healthy sample size now to suggest England have created a brand new form of cricket that is going to be hard to stop
Similarly, Eoin Morgan might be the single most important person in English cricket history.
He came in, told England to be aggressive and they've not looked back in the Limited Overs format and now McCullum & Stokes have expanded the approach to Red Ball cricket.
Pakistan has been lagging behind anyway and this feels like they're playing parallel sports.
Australia and India have had aggression in the past but this from England is simply relentless with raw power throughout the team and new talent always being integrated.
India have recently shown similar counterattacking in Australia but that's a counterpunch akin to Bazball, a term that isn't widely popular but refers to counterattacking in adversity.
Pakistan still play what is Catenaccio in football, a Mourinho method invented by Italy to be defensive and win through limited errors and to have little invention relying on a collective effort with flashes of brilliance.
What England have done is introduced a Gegenpressing style; the German method of being relentlessly on the front foot and taking the game to the opposition, where you dictate play and force the error. It's also proven to be unsustainable but in the here and now, England will surely dominate for the foreseeable future and is this a brand of cricket never seen before or do Windies and Australia hold claim to previous iterations?.
WhenSultansBowled
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True!
"Whenever a team is winning, for example Australia. They used to win all the trophies. Everyone wanted to copy them. Now England have won 50 over and T20 world titles and teams want to copy us."
-Moeen Ali
"Whenever a team is winning, for example Australia. They used to win all the trophies. Everyone wanted to copy them. Now England have won 50 over and T20 world titles and teams want to copy us."
-Moeen Ali
Bilal7
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This is NOT the way to play test cricket. Sure, there are situations when you can turn a test into a LO game but this is not a sustainable approach and even England will not play like this in every game, let alone anyone else.
They scored 650+ and they can still lose this game because of how high their RR was. Pakistan needs to play good test cricket for the next two days and then we'll see if England bat at a RR of 7 on day 5 of a pitch that will hopefully start doing something.
They scored 650+ and they can still lose this game because of how high their RR was. Pakistan needs to play good test cricket for the next two days and then we'll see if England bat at a RR of 7 on day 5 of a pitch that will hopefully start doing something.
jnaveen1980
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No team in history has lost a Test after posting 600 plus. Most recently this year NZ posted 553 and went on to lose the Test against England. 7 times in history teams went on to lose after posting 550 plus in the first in nigns.
jnaveen1980
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SHahid Afridi type of players would have enjoyed this pitch
Savak
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The key to countering the bazball approach is to keep fielders on the boundary and to keep urging the English batsmen to take their chances and see if you can hit sixes.
The worst thing you can do when faced with this approach is to keep bowling traditional test match lengths, adopt traditional test fields and allow the batsmen to get away with scoring 100 in 6 overs. Pakistani bowlers need to start bowling with the T-20 death overs mindset from ball one. The impatient batsmen will eventually give away their wickets.
The worst thing you can do when faced with this approach is to keep bowling traditional test match lengths, adopt traditional test fields and allow the batsmen to get away with scoring 100 in 6 overs. Pakistani bowlers need to start bowling with the T-20 death overs mindset from ball one. The impatient batsmen will eventually give away their wickets.
SpiritOf1903
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Sky did a wonderful segment on playing style. The difference with Limited Overs specialists of yore, this English contingent has technical security. They're so technically adept that playing any format becomes flawless.
Again, the credit has to go to Bayliss and Morgan. They're a Wood and Archer away from wreaking utter havoc.
This is a team missing Jonny Barstow!
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This may be a minority opinion but I'd hate to see Test cricket basically become an elongated version of ODIs.
Don't get me wrong I'm no fan of pointlessly dour, obdurate batting but Test cricket should be a much more even contest between bat and ball.
There'll be more sporting pitches than this where Bazball will get a sterner examination.
Don't get me wrong I'm no fan of pointlessly dour, obdurate batting but Test cricket should be a much more even contest between bat and ball.
There'll be more sporting pitches than this where Bazball will get a sterner examination.
jeeteshssaxena
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It's just a matter of coming across difficult tracks and all this Bazball Drama will end.
Pakistani is basically providing them exactly the kind of pitches they thrive on.
Would love to see them follow this approach vs Ind in asian conditions.
SpiritOf1903
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England sweep the ball better than Asian teams nowadays so England have really got all the tools in the box.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">McCullum/Stokes changing the way test cricket is to be played. Courageous, fearless positive mindset gets them a win in Rawalpindi on the most docile surface. I don’t think any other team in world cricket would have rolled the dice like that.Bring on the Ashes next year.
</p>— Mark Waugh (@juniorwaugh349) <a href="https://twitter.com/juniorwaugh349/status/1599732534757445634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</p>— Mark Waugh (@juniorwaugh349) <a href="https://twitter.com/juniorwaugh349/status/1599732534757445634?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 5, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
James
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Clearly the “BazBall” approach is not everyone’s cup of tea, but personally I love it, and it has produced an incredible run of results for England over the last 7-8 months.
For a long suffering fan of the England cricket team like myself, who has sat through a myriad of batting collapses, bowling humiliations and dropped catches over the years (and kept coming back for more!), who has lost many months worth of cumulative sleep to following England on their often unsuccessful away tours where we would score at 2 runs an over throughout an innings or take 3 wickets across a full day’s play and be told by the coach and captain that it was a good performance, these sorts of genuinely amazing results now being achieved (and that too in such a thrilling manner) has been an enormous breath of fresh air for me.
Keep this train powering along please Ben and Brendon, I don’t want it to stop yet — and even if it does have to pause due to temporary signal trouble, I will remain patient for the engine to start back up again; I certainly won’t be losing faith, giving up, getting off the train and walking.
For a long suffering fan of the England cricket team like myself, who has sat through a myriad of batting collapses, bowling humiliations and dropped catches over the years (and kept coming back for more!), who has lost many months worth of cumulative sleep to following England on their often unsuccessful away tours where we would score at 2 runs an over throughout an innings or take 3 wickets across a full day’s play and be told by the coach and captain that it was a good performance, these sorts of genuinely amazing results now being achieved (and that too in such a thrilling manner) has been an enormous breath of fresh air for me.
Keep this train powering along please Ben and Brendon, I don’t want it to stop yet — and even if it does have to pause due to temporary signal trouble, I will remain patient for the engine to start back up again; I certainly won’t be losing faith, giving up, getting off the train and walking.
Can england repeat the same bazball approach in a series in Australia. Or in india on a turning track where ashwin or jadeja will start turning from ball one. I don't think so. It was due to the mediocre bowling and pitch where they scored freely at 7-8 runs per over.
James
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Interestingly, when England scored quickly against New Zealand we were told that it was a fluke and they wouldn’t be able to do it against India.
Then when they did it against India and registered their own record run chase, that was just a one off Test and the South African quick bowlers were definitely going to blow England away.
Then when England beat South Africa in the next series, fairly easily in the end, England were told that they would come a cropper as soon as the first Test against Pakistan arrived. And then England apparently got their declaration wrong in that match too. Apparently
And so, after 7 out of 8 Tests won, here we are.
I guess the point is that there are people who have been writing off “BazBall” since the very first day it emerged as a brand of cricket that England were trying to play.
So let’s see how the upcoming matches and series go over the next year or two before any bold predictions (the sorts of which have been proven comprehensively wrong in the past) get made.
England have found a way to maximize their chances of winning a game with the resources they have.
Their batters aren't technicians other than Root and Pope so they're not really the grind out 150 ovs ala Pujara types. On a flat deck they'll play 115 ovs max and on a spicy deck probably will last 85-90.
If they play traditional cricket on a spicy deck they end up with a 220-250 score which is middling. But with Bazball approach they might get 320+ which can be a winner in a low scoring test.
On flat decks they can cross 400-450 easily and where the pitch doesn't deteriorate much they'll fancy chasing down big scores in the 2nd inns as well.
This approach is high risk and provides amazing spectacle when it comes off. Of course every approach has its own weaknesses and it's hard to say how long these tactics will continue to paper over the cracks of not having a quality workhorse spinner and dodgy openers.
A lot of people feel that in India against spin twins and in Aus against the Big 3 quicks approach will fail, but my counter is that old Eng were anyway losing these encounters badly. If they can get 260 odd in 60-65 ovs on a dustbowl wkt by aggressively sweeping Ash+Jaddu or 350 in 90 ovs against Aus trio they'll still have a better chance of winning these games. Although in those conditions their bowling weaknesses might finally be exposed badly.
Their batters aren't technicians other than Root and Pope so they're not really the grind out 150 ovs ala Pujara types. On a flat deck they'll play 115 ovs max and on a spicy deck probably will last 85-90.
If they play traditional cricket on a spicy deck they end up with a 220-250 score which is middling. But with Bazball approach they might get 320+ which can be a winner in a low scoring test.
On flat decks they can cross 400-450 easily and where the pitch doesn't deteriorate much they'll fancy chasing down big scores in the 2nd inns as well.
This approach is high risk and provides amazing spectacle when it comes off. Of course every approach has its own weaknesses and it's hard to say how long these tactics will continue to paper over the cracks of not having a quality workhorse spinner and dodgy openers.
A lot of people feel that in India against spin twins and in Aus against the Big 3 quicks approach will fail, but my counter is that old Eng were anyway losing these encounters badly. If they can get 260 odd in 60-65 ovs on a dustbowl wkt by aggressively sweeping Ash+Jaddu or 350 in 90 ovs against Aus trio they'll still have a better chance of winning these games. Although in those conditions their bowling weaknesses might finally be exposed badly.
I think they batted positively in those games you mentioned against india, nz and sa and that kind of batting we even saw from aussies and indians earlier. But this kind of bazball approach was not seen in those games, here they scored 500 runs on day1 itself. It was more because of the mediocre pak bowling which usually bowls without any plan and the pitch was also absolutely flat.Interestingly, when England scored quickly against New Zealand we were told that it was a fluke and they wouldn’t be able to do it against India.
Then when they did it against India and registered their own record run chase, that was just a one off Test and the South African quick bowlers were definitely going to blow England away.
Then when England beat South Africa in the next series, fairly easily in the end, England were told that they would come a cropper as soon as the first Test against Pakistan arrived. And then England apparently got their declaration wrong in that match too. Apparently
And so, after 7 out of 8 Tests won, here we are.
I guess the point is that there are people who have been writing off “BazBall” since the very first day it emerged as a brand of cricket that England were trying to play.
So let’s see how the upcoming matches and series go over the next year or two before any bold predictions (the sorts of which have been proven comprehensively wrong in the past) get made.
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Ben Stokes is prepared to get “even more adventurous” with his tactics as the England captain aims to continue pushing the limits of what is possible in Test cricket.
Speaking as he prepared for the second Test against Pakistan starting in Multan on Friday – a match that could see even shorter days than their 74‑run win in Rawalpindi, because of fog – Stokes showed no interest in his side sitting on their 1-0 series lead. Asked how much more inventive his side could get, having ransacked 921 runs from just 821 balls across their two innings in the first Test, and then set an inviting target on a flat pitch, Stokes said: “We might see, actually, in this Test.
“If it does pan out the way that it could, potentially, with the late start [for fog] and early finish [for bad light], we could end up having only 300-350 overs in the match. We might have to get even more adventurous with what we do.”
The match may also challenge the fitness of both teams, with the pollution levels in Multan rated as “very unhealthy” on the air quality index and physical activity not recommended – somewhat suboptimal for a five-day cricket match.
Among the ideas floated by Stokes to keep the game moving were possible declarations in both innings, while 48 hours out the captain said he was open to retaining Ollie Pope as wicketkeeper despite Ben Foakes returning to fitness after a sickness bug.
With seven wins from eight after a previous one from 17 under predecessor Joe Root, it is clear there is no going back for this England side under Stokes and the head coach, Brendon McCullum, as they maintain their contempt for the draw.
“We’ll stick to our guns and the way we want to play,” Stokes said. “That’s to go out there and try and make every single day of Test cricket entertaining and try to force results – not worrying about too much else.
“We’ve moved on from that first Test. Obviously it was a pretty special win. But I think we’re very good at parking results. It’s always about the next game, especially in a [three-match] series like this one where every game is back-to-back.”
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...more-adventurous-against-pakistan-says-stokes
Speaking as he prepared for the second Test against Pakistan starting in Multan on Friday – a match that could see even shorter days than their 74‑run win in Rawalpindi, because of fog – Stokes showed no interest in his side sitting on their 1-0 series lead. Asked how much more inventive his side could get, having ransacked 921 runs from just 821 balls across their two innings in the first Test, and then set an inviting target on a flat pitch, Stokes said: “We might see, actually, in this Test.
“If it does pan out the way that it could, potentially, with the late start [for fog] and early finish [for bad light], we could end up having only 300-350 overs in the match. We might have to get even more adventurous with what we do.”
The match may also challenge the fitness of both teams, with the pollution levels in Multan rated as “very unhealthy” on the air quality index and physical activity not recommended – somewhat suboptimal for a five-day cricket match.
Among the ideas floated by Stokes to keep the game moving were possible declarations in both innings, while 48 hours out the captain said he was open to retaining Ollie Pope as wicketkeeper despite Ben Foakes returning to fitness after a sickness bug.
With seven wins from eight after a previous one from 17 under predecessor Joe Root, it is clear there is no going back for this England side under Stokes and the head coach, Brendon McCullum, as they maintain their contempt for the draw.
“We’ll stick to our guns and the way we want to play,” Stokes said. “That’s to go out there and try and make every single day of Test cricket entertaining and try to force results – not worrying about too much else.
“We’ve moved on from that first Test. Obviously it was a pretty special win. But I think we’re very good at parking results. It’s always about the next game, especially in a [three-match] series like this one where every game is back-to-back.”
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2...more-adventurous-against-pakistan-says-stokes
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Nasser Hussain and Michael Atherton have lavished praise on England after they wrapped up a historic series win in Pakistan, insisting it is "amazing" how much the team has changed under Ben Stokes' leadership.
England, who came into the series with just two Test wins in Pakistan in 61 years, clinched their second in a week on Monday as they defeated the hosts by 26 runs in Multan to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Harry Brook starred in the match as England once again took the game to their opponents with the bat, while seamers Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson and James Anderson complimented Jack Leach's spin to end the game on day four after a Saud Shakeez-Mohammad Nawaz partnership threatened to take the series to a decider.
"That is a magnificent victory," said Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket. "Two very docile pitches, two very different pitches... and this one spun.
"They've had to work so, so hard to pull off those victories. You spare a thought for Pakistan, they were 10 minutes away from getting a draw in the last game and they were 20-odd runs away here, and that shows the effort England had to put in. They didn't just walk over Pakistan, they had to put in a real effort."
Fellow former captain Atherton said England's victory was the result of a "clear strategy".
"One was to score quickly and therefore give yourselves plenty of time to take those wickets," he explained. "England have only ever won two games here but they've only lost a couple as well, there's been a hellish number of draws.
"It's a very difficult place to force a win because the pitches are so flat and so slow - that's why one strategy was to score quickly and they took that to the nth degree in Rawalpindi, scoring between six and seven runs an over. But even here in Multan, that rate was five an over or a bit more.
"Then, fittingly the last wickets went to the seamers here. They have out-bowled the Pakistan seamers and I don't know how often you've been able to say that in recent years.
"I think the strategy was clear and it's been absolutely vindicated by the series win."
Athers: England's change under Stokes is amazing
England have been ploughing through records on their first Test series in Pakistan since 2005, and Multan provided more memorable milestones as they won back-to-back Tests in Pakistan for the first time.
It also added to Stokes' incredible record as captain, with England having won eight of nine Tests under his leadership.
"He's transformed England's Test match team," stressed Athers. "He has transformed and galvanised an outfit with few changes, and that is the measure of leadership.
"He's going to be a very significant England captain, he's going to be one of our greatest ever captains by the time he finishes, I think. I can't remember another captain, certainly England and maybe worldwide, who has had such a dramatic and immediate impact upon taking over.
"Think where England were. I was stood at the end of the Ashes calling for the heads of the captain, the coach and the Director of Cricket - England were terrible. And then they were beaten in the Caribbean.
"Suddenly the team has completely transformed under different leadership, the combination of Stokes and [Test head coach] Brendon McCullum, that clear messaging that was talked about. That attitude that it doesn't matter so much if we get beat, we're going to give it a go.
"Suddenly they look a transformed side, it is amazing how it's changed and that's down to leadership. It's incredible."
Despite England's triumph, Hussain still thinks the second Test will give them lessons for the future, highlighting finishing the five wickets lost on day three in their second innings for just 73 runs.
"They will learn from this," he said. "McCullum is no fool, he will sit there and he will think about that 73-5. Stokes will not say it on interview, because he wants clear messaging like Morgan's men and that white-ball revolution.
"But McCullum will say to his team, 'well done, you got over the line but just think about that 73-5'.
"He will hope that next time they think about that, and they can't just keep going this close, because a better side may just knock them and say, 'don't take the mick out of the game'."
Hussain, though, also reserved praise for Rob Key, who became Director of Cricket last April after the disappointment of the Ashes and the series defeat in the Caribbean.
"Rob Key has got the big decisions right" he added. "He got the captain right, the coach right, and the atmosphere is right. When he came in, they said it was about jobs for the boys... but that boy has done a pretty good job."
SkyCricket
England, who came into the series with just two Test wins in Pakistan in 61 years, clinched their second in a week on Monday as they defeated the hosts by 26 runs in Multan to take an unassailable 2-0 lead.
Harry Brook starred in the match as England once again took the game to their opponents with the bat, while seamers Mark Wood, Ollie Robinson and James Anderson complimented Jack Leach's spin to end the game on day four after a Saud Shakeez-Mohammad Nawaz partnership threatened to take the series to a decider.
"That is a magnificent victory," said Hussain on Sky Sports Cricket. "Two very docile pitches, two very different pitches... and this one spun.
"They've had to work so, so hard to pull off those victories. You spare a thought for Pakistan, they were 10 minutes away from getting a draw in the last game and they were 20-odd runs away here, and that shows the effort England had to put in. They didn't just walk over Pakistan, they had to put in a real effort."
Fellow former captain Atherton said England's victory was the result of a "clear strategy".
"One was to score quickly and therefore give yourselves plenty of time to take those wickets," he explained. "England have only ever won two games here but they've only lost a couple as well, there's been a hellish number of draws.
"It's a very difficult place to force a win because the pitches are so flat and so slow - that's why one strategy was to score quickly and they took that to the nth degree in Rawalpindi, scoring between six and seven runs an over. But even here in Multan, that rate was five an over or a bit more.
"Then, fittingly the last wickets went to the seamers here. They have out-bowled the Pakistan seamers and I don't know how often you've been able to say that in recent years.
"I think the strategy was clear and it's been absolutely vindicated by the series win."
Athers: England's change under Stokes is amazing
England have been ploughing through records on their first Test series in Pakistan since 2005, and Multan provided more memorable milestones as they won back-to-back Tests in Pakistan for the first time.
It also added to Stokes' incredible record as captain, with England having won eight of nine Tests under his leadership.
"He's transformed England's Test match team," stressed Athers. "He has transformed and galvanised an outfit with few changes, and that is the measure of leadership.
"He's going to be a very significant England captain, he's going to be one of our greatest ever captains by the time he finishes, I think. I can't remember another captain, certainly England and maybe worldwide, who has had such a dramatic and immediate impact upon taking over.
"Think where England were. I was stood at the end of the Ashes calling for the heads of the captain, the coach and the Director of Cricket - England were terrible. And then they were beaten in the Caribbean.
"Suddenly the team has completely transformed under different leadership, the combination of Stokes and [Test head coach] Brendon McCullum, that clear messaging that was talked about. That attitude that it doesn't matter so much if we get beat, we're going to give it a go.
"Suddenly they look a transformed side, it is amazing how it's changed and that's down to leadership. It's incredible."
Despite England's triumph, Hussain still thinks the second Test will give them lessons for the future, highlighting finishing the five wickets lost on day three in their second innings for just 73 runs.
"They will learn from this," he said. "McCullum is no fool, he will sit there and he will think about that 73-5. Stokes will not say it on interview, because he wants clear messaging like Morgan's men and that white-ball revolution.
"But McCullum will say to his team, 'well done, you got over the line but just think about that 73-5'.
"He will hope that next time they think about that, and they can't just keep going this close, because a better side may just knock them and say, 'don't take the mick out of the game'."
Hussain, though, also reserved praise for Rob Key, who became Director of Cricket last April after the disappointment of the Ashes and the series defeat in the Caribbean.
"Rob Key has got the big decisions right" he added. "He got the captain right, the coach right, and the atmosphere is right. When he came in, they said it was about jobs for the boys... but that boy has done a pretty good job."
SkyCricket
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Pakistan give a lesson in Bazball mechanics.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">England is just having fun with it now. Just showing off how far ahead of us they are.</p>— Shoaib Akhtar (@shoaib100mph) <a href="https://twitter.com/shoaib100mph/status/1604818606134628353?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2022</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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SpiritOf1903
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Any team shows authority and Pakistan crumble. That's where I give Sarfraz credit for beating India.
As good and commanding England are, Pakistan are diametrically opposed.
JaDed
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No offense but it’s something Aus has already done before.
Good teams should be able to figure this out in tests but LOI it will be hard to beat them due to pitches and two new ball crap.
Good teams should be able to figure this out in tests but LOI it will be hard to beat them due to pitches and two new ball crap.
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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-partner="tweetdeck"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Strike-rates of some of the England batters in the Test series against Pakistan:<br><br>Harry Brook 93.41<br>Ben Duckett 95.71<br>Ollie Pope 94.07<br>Zak Crawley 91.79<br>Ben Stokes 93.01<br>Will Jacks 98.88<a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvENG</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cricket?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cricket</a></p>— Saj Sadiq (@SajSadiqCricket) <a href="https://twitter.com/SajSadiqCricket/status/1605272186964549638?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 20, 2022</a></blockquote>
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Bazball and effect of playing positive cricket
I think there is some merit to playing positive cricket which is reflected in RR that the team bats with..
e.g., overall RR for England during the six innings was 5.64 vs Pakistan's 3.27.
In fact England batted with higher RR in each inning compared to Pakistan which shows level of confidence.
Interesting thing is that during the last test that India lost, India scored 150 runs more during the first innings at RR of 4.89 vs England's RR of 4.65.
However, during the second innings India batted at RR 2.98 vs almost 5 of England and lost miserably.
I think there is some merit to playing positive cricket which is reflected in RR that the team bats with..
e.g., overall RR for England during the six innings was 5.64 vs Pakistan's 3.27.
In fact England batted with higher RR in each inning compared to Pakistan which shows level of confidence.
Interesting thing is that during the last test that India lost, India scored 150 runs more during the first innings at RR of 4.89 vs England's RR of 4.65.
However, during the second innings India batted at RR 2.98 vs almost 5 of England and lost miserably.
Pakistan simply do not have the players to bat at 5PO if they can bat at 4PO that would be an achievement.
jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,410
Usually one or two palyers would play like that. Bairstow even when he started his career batted like that. This is the first series where i have seen entire batting line up including tailender batting positively.
jnaveen1980
Test Captain
- Joined
- Mar 19, 2016
- Runs
- 48,410
When Puajra bats for long that is not a surprise. Rohit sharma usually once set can accelerate like he did against England in India. His absence played a big part. India could have completely batted England out of the game on day 4.
James
World Star
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- Jan 8, 2006
- Runs
- 50,859
- Post of the Week
- 2
<b>England's staggering success in Test cricket in 2022</b>
In the curious vernacular of sports punditry, it is often said a team or individual which has performed above expectation, if offered their achieved results in advance, would have bitten off, snapped off or otherwise detached your hand (or entire arm), in an act of pre-emptive gratitudinous dismemberment whose legal ramifications are seldom considered.
We can only speculate what acts of exultant limb-removal England's cricketers and their supporters would have deemed appropriate if you had offered them a run of nine wins in 10 Tests, either at the moment Australia sealed their 4-0 Ashes triumph in Hobart in January, or when Joe Root resigned after a series defeat in West Indies left England with one win from 17 Tests.
Suffice to say, it would have hurt.
The revolution in England's fortunes since Rob Key's visionary decisions to appoint Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as coach has been one of the most astonishing ever seen in cricket.
The current run of results is only the fourth time in England's Test history they have constructed a sequence of nine wins in 10 Tests.
The most recent was when Michael Vaughan's team won 11 out of 12 in 2004. Mike Brearley led England to nine wins in 10 in 1978 and 1979, including a 5-1 win against an Australian side shorn of almost all of its leading players by the World Series Cricket schism.
Prior to that, you have to go back to early years of Test cricket, when England won 12 out of 13 between March 1885 and August 1890.
Those teams all began their sequences from a position of relative preceding success - Vaughan's side had won four and drawn three of their previous 10 Tests, Brearley's England had won three and drawn six of theirs, and the 1880s had won five and drawn two.
In fact, of all the teams that have ever had sequences of nine wins in 10 Tests (or better) - a feat achieved by Australia (at various points in their glory years from 1999 to 2008, as well as in in the late 1940s to early 1950s, and from 1930 to 1932), South Africa (2002-2003), West Indies (1984), and Sri Lanka (2001-02) - none has ever done so having won only one of its previous 10.
The Pakistan series took England's batting revolution to even greater heights of scoreboard-melting speed than they achieved last summer.
They scored at 5.50 runs per over in the three Tests combined, demolishing Australia's record of 4.66 per over in a 2015-16 clouting of the West Indies as the fastest run-rate by a team in a series of at least three Tests.
England's 4.54 against New Zealand last summer was relegated into third place. In all, they scored at 4.13 per over in 2022, a new calendar-year record for a team that has played at least three Tests, despite the statistical deadweight of their first five Tests of the year, when they scored at a moderate 3.18.
Since the Stokes era began, they have scored at 4.77 per over, 62% faster than they had over the preceding 12 months (2.94 per over).
It is particularly telling that, of the 13 players who have played both under Stokes and McCullum and in the previous 12 months, only one has seen his batting average decline (tailender Jack Leach) and one has posted a slower scoring rate (Ben Foakes, by a negligible amount and while playing several important innings).
Only Australia in 2002 (a four or six every 11.6 balls) have hit boundaries more frequently than England in 2022 (one per 12.4 deliveries faced).
If a merciful computer whizz were to hack into the statistical databases of the cricketing world and delete all evidence of the final two Ashes Tests and the West Indies series, Stokes' England, with a boundary every 9.8 balls, would smash that record as well.
The standout batting star in Pakistan was Harry Brook, whose majestic, multi-faceted strokeplay brought him three centuries and elevated him onto an elite list of players with three or more hundreds in their first four Tests.
He moves alongside George Headley, the founding genius of West Indian batting; post-war Australian opener Arthur Morris; another West Indian, Conrad Hunte, in 1958; and two different Indian masters, Sunil Gavaskar in the early 1970s, and Mohammad Azharuddin, who bedazzled England on David Gower's victorious 1984-85 tour.
Brook was especially good against Pakistan's breakthrough spinner Abrar Ahmed, scoring 125 for one dismissal off 144 balls, including 19 boundaries (one every 7.6 balls faced; against the rest of England's top seven combined, Abrar took 13-275, and conceded a boundary every 13.5 balls).
Brook contributed to England making a national-record 22 Test centuries this year (more than in the previous three years combined), spread among eight players.
In 2021, six of their seven hundreds were scored by Joe Root; in 2022, for the first time in a calendar year, six England players scored at least two Test centuries (Bairstow six, Root five, Brook three, and Pope, Crawley and Stokes two each).
For all their extraordinary batting, their performance with the ball and in the field has been equally impressive.
In the field, Stokes and his team have been extraordinary to watch, ceaselessly positive, inventive and unorthodox, presenting unexpected and unfamiliar challenges to their opponents.
They have conceded more regular boundaries - one every 14 balls since June, compared with one every 18 balls over the previous 12 months - but are taking their wickets considerably more rapidly (one every 8.5 overs, down from one per 11.3 overs).
Ten Tests is a relatively small sample size, and stats such as these are affected by a range of factors including pitches, venues and opposition, but they do highlight the shift in England's approach, with Stokes prepared to leave gaps in the field, constantly probing for weakness and opportunity, and dangling a bewildering array of trademark carrots.
They have turned around positions of potential defeat in at least six of their nine wins, and have taken all 190 of the 190 wickets in their 19 innings in the field, despite often playing on batter-friendly surfaces with unresponsive balls.
The decisive difference between the teams in Pakistan was the vast superiority of England's seamers.
Collectively, they took 26 wickets at 24.0, the best average by a visiting seam attack against Pakistan in the last 23 three-Test series since 1990-91 (including those played in the UAE).
Pakistan's pace bowlers, who missed the brilliant Shaheen Afridi like an albatross would miss its wings, managed a pitiful 11 wickets at 63.5, as well as being more than twice as expensive as England's pacers, conceding 5.3 an over.
The 39.5 runs per wicket difference between the two teams' pace attacks is the greatest by which England have bettered opposing seamers in any series away from home (minimum three Tests), their sixth greatest margin anywhere, and their second biggest in their last 141 such series, since 1967.
Pakistan's seamers have never suffered a greater gulf between their collective average and that of their opponents.
All in all, it has been probably the most mind-boggling, expectation-splintering sequence of matches in England's Test history.
If you had predicted at the start of the tour that England's two five-wicket hauls would be taken by Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed (whose matches figures of 7-137 were the best by an England spinner on debut since 1993, and the best by a debutant England leg-spinner since 1933), people would have looked at you with surprise and possibly concern.
If you had made that prophecy in August, and then added England would win the series 3-0 despite Stokes taking only one wicket and failing to reach 50, and Root making only one half-century (and a total of 31 first-innings runs), and with Jonny Bairstow, the principal driving force of England's pyrotechnic successes of the summer, absent due to a freak golfing injury, they would have assumed you had consumed a large quantity of hallucinogenic cucumber sandwiches and psychotropic scones from a rogue village tea.
This tour, and this English Test year, has entranced, fascinated and inspired in a way that was inconceivable back in January, when Ollie Robinson, one foot halfway to Hobart airport, had his stumps splattered by Pat Cummins.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/64071323
In the curious vernacular of sports punditry, it is often said a team or individual which has performed above expectation, if offered their achieved results in advance, would have bitten off, snapped off or otherwise detached your hand (or entire arm), in an act of pre-emptive gratitudinous dismemberment whose legal ramifications are seldom considered.
We can only speculate what acts of exultant limb-removal England's cricketers and their supporters would have deemed appropriate if you had offered them a run of nine wins in 10 Tests, either at the moment Australia sealed their 4-0 Ashes triumph in Hobart in January, or when Joe Root resigned after a series defeat in West Indies left England with one win from 17 Tests.
Suffice to say, it would have hurt.
The revolution in England's fortunes since Rob Key's visionary decisions to appoint Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as coach has been one of the most astonishing ever seen in cricket.
The current run of results is only the fourth time in England's Test history they have constructed a sequence of nine wins in 10 Tests.
The most recent was when Michael Vaughan's team won 11 out of 12 in 2004. Mike Brearley led England to nine wins in 10 in 1978 and 1979, including a 5-1 win against an Australian side shorn of almost all of its leading players by the World Series Cricket schism.
Prior to that, you have to go back to early years of Test cricket, when England won 12 out of 13 between March 1885 and August 1890.
Those teams all began their sequences from a position of relative preceding success - Vaughan's side had won four and drawn three of their previous 10 Tests, Brearley's England had won three and drawn six of theirs, and the 1880s had won five and drawn two.
In fact, of all the teams that have ever had sequences of nine wins in 10 Tests (or better) - a feat achieved by Australia (at various points in their glory years from 1999 to 2008, as well as in in the late 1940s to early 1950s, and from 1930 to 1932), South Africa (2002-2003), West Indies (1984), and Sri Lanka (2001-02) - none has ever done so having won only one of its previous 10.
The Pakistan series took England's batting revolution to even greater heights of scoreboard-melting speed than they achieved last summer.
They scored at 5.50 runs per over in the three Tests combined, demolishing Australia's record of 4.66 per over in a 2015-16 clouting of the West Indies as the fastest run-rate by a team in a series of at least three Tests.
England's 4.54 against New Zealand last summer was relegated into third place. In all, they scored at 4.13 per over in 2022, a new calendar-year record for a team that has played at least three Tests, despite the statistical deadweight of their first five Tests of the year, when they scored at a moderate 3.18.
Since the Stokes era began, they have scored at 4.77 per over, 62% faster than they had over the preceding 12 months (2.94 per over).
It is particularly telling that, of the 13 players who have played both under Stokes and McCullum and in the previous 12 months, only one has seen his batting average decline (tailender Jack Leach) and one has posted a slower scoring rate (Ben Foakes, by a negligible amount and while playing several important innings).
Only Australia in 2002 (a four or six every 11.6 balls) have hit boundaries more frequently than England in 2022 (one per 12.4 deliveries faced).
If a merciful computer whizz were to hack into the statistical databases of the cricketing world and delete all evidence of the final two Ashes Tests and the West Indies series, Stokes' England, with a boundary every 9.8 balls, would smash that record as well.
The standout batting star in Pakistan was Harry Brook, whose majestic, multi-faceted strokeplay brought him three centuries and elevated him onto an elite list of players with three or more hundreds in their first four Tests.
He moves alongside George Headley, the founding genius of West Indian batting; post-war Australian opener Arthur Morris; another West Indian, Conrad Hunte, in 1958; and two different Indian masters, Sunil Gavaskar in the early 1970s, and Mohammad Azharuddin, who bedazzled England on David Gower's victorious 1984-85 tour.
Brook was especially good against Pakistan's breakthrough spinner Abrar Ahmed, scoring 125 for one dismissal off 144 balls, including 19 boundaries (one every 7.6 balls faced; against the rest of England's top seven combined, Abrar took 13-275, and conceded a boundary every 13.5 balls).
Brook contributed to England making a national-record 22 Test centuries this year (more than in the previous three years combined), spread among eight players.
In 2021, six of their seven hundreds were scored by Joe Root; in 2022, for the first time in a calendar year, six England players scored at least two Test centuries (Bairstow six, Root five, Brook three, and Pope, Crawley and Stokes two each).
For all their extraordinary batting, their performance with the ball and in the field has been equally impressive.
In the field, Stokes and his team have been extraordinary to watch, ceaselessly positive, inventive and unorthodox, presenting unexpected and unfamiliar challenges to their opponents.
They have conceded more regular boundaries - one every 14 balls since June, compared with one every 18 balls over the previous 12 months - but are taking their wickets considerably more rapidly (one every 8.5 overs, down from one per 11.3 overs).
Ten Tests is a relatively small sample size, and stats such as these are affected by a range of factors including pitches, venues and opposition, but they do highlight the shift in England's approach, with Stokes prepared to leave gaps in the field, constantly probing for weakness and opportunity, and dangling a bewildering array of trademark carrots.
They have turned around positions of potential defeat in at least six of their nine wins, and have taken all 190 of the 190 wickets in their 19 innings in the field, despite often playing on batter-friendly surfaces with unresponsive balls.
The decisive difference between the teams in Pakistan was the vast superiority of England's seamers.
Collectively, they took 26 wickets at 24.0, the best average by a visiting seam attack against Pakistan in the last 23 three-Test series since 1990-91 (including those played in the UAE).
Pakistan's pace bowlers, who missed the brilliant Shaheen Afridi like an albatross would miss its wings, managed a pitiful 11 wickets at 63.5, as well as being more than twice as expensive as England's pacers, conceding 5.3 an over.
The 39.5 runs per wicket difference between the two teams' pace attacks is the greatest by which England have bettered opposing seamers in any series away from home (minimum three Tests), their sixth greatest margin anywhere, and their second biggest in their last 141 such series, since 1967.
Pakistan's seamers have never suffered a greater gulf between their collective average and that of their opponents.
All in all, it has been probably the most mind-boggling, expectation-splintering sequence of matches in England's Test history.
If you had predicted at the start of the tour that England's two five-wicket hauls would be taken by Will Jacks and Rehan Ahmed (whose matches figures of 7-137 were the best by an England spinner on debut since 1993, and the best by a debutant England leg-spinner since 1933), people would have looked at you with surprise and possibly concern.
If you had made that prophecy in August, and then added England would win the series 3-0 despite Stokes taking only one wicket and failing to reach 50, and Root making only one half-century (and a total of 31 first-innings runs), and with Jonny Bairstow, the principal driving force of England's pyrotechnic successes of the summer, absent due to a freak golfing injury, they would have assumed you had consumed a large quantity of hallucinogenic cucumber sandwiches and psychotropic scones from a rogue village tea.
This tour, and this English Test year, has entranced, fascinated and inspired in a way that was inconceivable back in January, when Ollie Robinson, one foot halfway to Hobart airport, had his stumps splattered by Pat Cummins.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/cricket/64071323
Robert
Test Star
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2007
- Runs
- 37,604
- Post of the Week
- 1
As per [MENTION=1842]James[/MENTION] article, Foakes has slowed down slightly. But this has been necessary. Several times he has stopped collapses, getting England to parity or ahead after the all-out attack of the top six has failed.
SpiritOf1903
ODI Debutant
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2009
- Runs
- 9,842
Captain Stokes & Coach McCullum: England's Remarkable 2022
So Sky Sports have a shoe called Captain Stokes: England's Glorious Summer.
It's a rather premature premise. The match versus India at Edgbaston surely the greatest in this barely fathomable juggernaut.
It's easy to get wrapped up in the emotion if watching from a personal perspective, such as Pakistan seemingly rolling over as opposed to being steamrolled.
England have won nine out of 10 Test Matches this year. They've steamrolled everyone, from New Zealand to Pakistan, via India & South Africa, from London to Karachi.
This might be the most remarkable year by a single team in cricket history. Not just the wins but the absurd manner. Taking almost every wicket and going at a run rate simply not sustained in red ball cricket.
They've also won the T20 World Cup.
This England team this year is simply unbelievable.
So Sky Sports have a shoe called Captain Stokes: England's Glorious Summer.
It's a rather premature premise. The match versus India at Edgbaston surely the greatest in this barely fathomable juggernaut.
It's easy to get wrapped up in the emotion if watching from a personal perspective, such as Pakistan seemingly rolling over as opposed to being steamrolled.
England have won nine out of 10 Test Matches this year. They've steamrolled everyone, from New Zealand to Pakistan, via India & South Africa, from London to Karachi.
This might be the most remarkable year by a single team in cricket history. Not just the wins but the absurd manner. Taking almost every wicket and going at a run rate simply not sustained in red ball cricket.
They've also won the T20 World Cup.
This England team this year is simply unbelievable.
SpiritOf1903
ODI Debutant
- Joined
- Oct 4, 2009
- Runs
- 9,842
Freewheeling England are leading the march towards Total Cricket
Mark Ramprakash
I’ve just been to India with the cricketers from Harrow school, where I coach. There are some very strong players and a bit of depth in the first-team squad at the moment, which means I am lucky enough to be able to rotate players around.
i always encourage young players to be all-rounders – you want athletic cricketers who hopefully can contribute with the bat, the ball and in the field – and recently the talent and flexibility in the squad has given me the latitude I need to mix up the side and give more people opportunities. Of course it is one thing to do this with a school team and quite another to see it in a Test side, but England seem to be pushing this even further and really challenging traditional cricketstereotypes.
During the three Tests in Pakistan Ben Stokes opted for a spinner to open the bowling with the new ball. Such a tactic has been used many times as a one-off on a turning track but with England it became a policy, happening in three consecutive matches.
Ollie Pope kept wicket for England Under-19s but hadn’t done it for Surrey, yet he jumped into that role when circumstances meant some lateral thinking was required and he did a competent job.
Ben Duckett does not ordinarily open for his county. Not long ago batting at the top of the order was seen as a specialist position, particularly in first-class cricket, but again convention has been challenged, the player has bought into it, and it has so far proved extremely successful. Most remarkably of all, the 18-year-old debutant spinner Rehan Ahmed batted at No 3 in the final innings of the series.
I remember Graeme Hick being asked whether he wanted to open and he was adamant he preferred to bat at No 3. In my generation players were superstitious about their number and reluctant to move around the order, and often felt like a fish out of water when they were forced to. But in white-ball cricket players have become used to switching positions, and have now carried that attitude into the first-class game.
When the Dutch created a generation of footballers who had the technical and tactical flexibility to play in any position, it became known as Total Football. In cricket there has been a gradual change, but perhaps this year we have seen the evolution of Total Cricket, with England at the forefront.
Before England travelled to Pakistan I suggested that they would have to adapt to the attritional style of cricket required there when dealing with lower bounce and perhaps turn. Well they completely blew that out of the water. They have played with such freedom, not just to be more aggressive with the bat and in the field, but to think about the game in a different way.
They have just carried into Tests a mindset that started in Twenty20s, and which means that a young batter such as Harry Brook is happy to come down the wicket, very early on in his innings, to a guy who can turn the ball both ways, and hit him straight for six. It’s a combination of talent, confidence, and the gradual realisation that the modern cricket landscape is one with no horizons.
It has been a fabulous end to 2022, but there are fresh challenges ahead for England’s Test side. I was there when England last toured New Zealand in 2019 and it was so boring due to the two Tests being played on ridiculously flat wickets. Jofra Archer was bowled into the ground. The Kiwis won the first Test by an innings and drew the second.
They will be thinking now about what kind of surface would give them the best chance of beating an England side that have just shown they can win on flatter, dryer surfaces and I feel they would be best off trying to create conditions more akin to England, with seam and swing. It suits England’s bowlers just as much as it suits New Zealand’s, but it may be their best opportunity to put Stokes and his side on the back foot.
England’s thoughts might already be drifting to the summer, and a chance to regain the Ashes. Stokes and Brendon McCullum have created a very attacking batting lineup which just keeps coming at you. You get one aggressive, dangerous batter out and another one walks out to replace him.
Australia’s is a little more varied. There are players such as Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith who in first-class cricket are not afraid to occupy the crease and bat long, and others such as David Warner and Travis Head who look to play a few shots. It will be a fascinating series, and it is hard at this stage to pick a winner, but England’s best chance might be if the ball is swinging and seaming, conditions like those in 2015 when Stuart Broad took eight for 15 against the Australians at Trent Bridge.
Since Stokes took over as captain England seem to have had all the answers, but there are certainly difficult questions to come. One of them has spent the winter sitting at home recovering from a dislocated ankle and a leg broken in three places. Jonny Bairstow has to come back into the team, but it is clear also that Brook has to stay. It is just as well this is a generation of players happy to move around the order, because I could see Bairstow returning at No 1, at No 7 with the gloves, or anywhere in between. With England these days nothing is certain – except that it won’t be boring.
Mark Ramprakash
I’ve just been to India with the cricketers from Harrow school, where I coach. There are some very strong players and a bit of depth in the first-team squad at the moment, which means I am lucky enough to be able to rotate players around.
i always encourage young players to be all-rounders – you want athletic cricketers who hopefully can contribute with the bat, the ball and in the field – and recently the talent and flexibility in the squad has given me the latitude I need to mix up the side and give more people opportunities. Of course it is one thing to do this with a school team and quite another to see it in a Test side, but England seem to be pushing this even further and really challenging traditional cricketstereotypes.
During the three Tests in Pakistan Ben Stokes opted for a spinner to open the bowling with the new ball. Such a tactic has been used many times as a one-off on a turning track but with England it became a policy, happening in three consecutive matches.
Ollie Pope kept wicket for England Under-19s but hadn’t done it for Surrey, yet he jumped into that role when circumstances meant some lateral thinking was required and he did a competent job.
Ben Duckett does not ordinarily open for his county. Not long ago batting at the top of the order was seen as a specialist position, particularly in first-class cricket, but again convention has been challenged, the player has bought into it, and it has so far proved extremely successful. Most remarkably of all, the 18-year-old debutant spinner Rehan Ahmed batted at No 3 in the final innings of the series.
I remember Graeme Hick being asked whether he wanted to open and he was adamant he preferred to bat at No 3. In my generation players were superstitious about their number and reluctant to move around the order, and often felt like a fish out of water when they were forced to. But in white-ball cricket players have become used to switching positions, and have now carried that attitude into the first-class game.
When the Dutch created a generation of footballers who had the technical and tactical flexibility to play in any position, it became known as Total Football. In cricket there has been a gradual change, but perhaps this year we have seen the evolution of Total Cricket, with England at the forefront.
Before England travelled to Pakistan I suggested that they would have to adapt to the attritional style of cricket required there when dealing with lower bounce and perhaps turn. Well they completely blew that out of the water. They have played with such freedom, not just to be more aggressive with the bat and in the field, but to think about the game in a different way.
They have just carried into Tests a mindset that started in Twenty20s, and which means that a young batter such as Harry Brook is happy to come down the wicket, very early on in his innings, to a guy who can turn the ball both ways, and hit him straight for six. It’s a combination of talent, confidence, and the gradual realisation that the modern cricket landscape is one with no horizons.
It has been a fabulous end to 2022, but there are fresh challenges ahead for England’s Test side. I was there when England last toured New Zealand in 2019 and it was so boring due to the two Tests being played on ridiculously flat wickets. Jofra Archer was bowled into the ground. The Kiwis won the first Test by an innings and drew the second.
They will be thinking now about what kind of surface would give them the best chance of beating an England side that have just shown they can win on flatter, dryer surfaces and I feel they would be best off trying to create conditions more akin to England, with seam and swing. It suits England’s bowlers just as much as it suits New Zealand’s, but it may be their best opportunity to put Stokes and his side on the back foot.
England’s thoughts might already be drifting to the summer, and a chance to regain the Ashes. Stokes and Brendon McCullum have created a very attacking batting lineup which just keeps coming at you. You get one aggressive, dangerous batter out and another one walks out to replace him.
Australia’s is a little more varied. There are players such as Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith who in first-class cricket are not afraid to occupy the crease and bat long, and others such as David Warner and Travis Head who look to play a few shots. It will be a fascinating series, and it is hard at this stage to pick a winner, but England’s best chance might be if the ball is swinging and seaming, conditions like those in 2015 when Stuart Broad took eight for 15 against the Australians at Trent Bridge.
Since Stokes took over as captain England seem to have had all the answers, but there are certainly difficult questions to come. One of them has spent the winter sitting at home recovering from a dislocated ankle and a leg broken in three places. Jonny Bairstow has to come back into the team, but it is clear also that Brook has to stay. It is just as well this is a generation of players happy to move around the order, because I could see Bairstow returning at No 1, at No 7 with the gloves, or anywhere in between. With England these days nothing is certain – except that it won’t be boring.
UP
T20I Debutant
- Joined
- Sep 25, 2007
- Runs
- 8,094
Need skills and ability to play like England.
I have said this well before England did it that Pakistan needs a more attacking approach unfortunately all that happened was more Azhar Ali type batsmen coming in.
Now the team is basically minnow level still nothing will change more 40 strike rate batsmen will be selected as that’s how test cricket is played according to Pakistani selectors and fans and more mediocrity will follow.
Now the team is basically minnow level still nothing will change more 40 strike rate batsmen will be selected as that’s how test cricket is played according to Pakistani selectors and fans and more mediocrity will follow.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
England struggling in SA:
ENG 42/2 (10) CRR: 4.2
Bazball seems to work on some teams (weaker ones like Pakistan)
ENG 42/2 (10) CRR: 4.2
Bazball seems to work on some teams (weaker ones like Pakistan)
ataullah
First Class Captain
- Joined
- Feb 9, 2005
- Runs
- 4,622
Bazball works on certain pitches. If Shaheen, Naseem and Rauf were bowling here half the England team would be in the dugout. Pakistan's not a weak white ball team..finalists in the last white ball world cup. Where was the stronger team SAF?
Kroll
ODI Debutant
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2017
- Runs
- 10,274
- Post of the Week
- 1
Speaking too early, Eng pushing back towards 6 rr now.
MIG Bhai Bazz is not their White all coach
Kroll
ODI Debutant
- Joined
- Jun 4, 2017
- Runs
- 10,274
- Post of the Week
- 1
This new breed of English batters are monsters.
- Joined
- Oct 2, 2004
- Runs
- 218,111
As are the South Africans!
LegendAli
Local Club Captain
- Joined
- Feb 21, 2012
- Runs
- 2,570
LOL come on now, Bavuma was MOM for crying out loud.
Robert
Test Star
- Joined
- Nov 4, 2007
- Runs
- 37,604
- Post of the Week
- 1
England bazballed SA in England.
Remember that they are missing Bairstow, Root and arguably Stokes.
hoshiarpurexpress
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Hopefully the whining English are served spinning pitches in the WC. They need to be spun out off the WC
They need to get another spinner in the xi.
England are the only team in the world to score at over a run a ball against spin since the last world cup.
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Nikhil_cric
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You are right but they haven't played on slow, spinning pitches.
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England continue on their merry ways
ENG 465 (69.2) CRR: 6.71
Day 1: Stumps - England: 465 All out (69.2 Ovs), Jack Leach 7(18) Ollie Robinson 16(13)
Day 1: Dinner - England: 375/5 (52 Ovs), Ben Foakes 33(38) Daniel Lawrence 85(52)
Day 1: Tea - England: 169/3 (26 Ovs) Joe Root 58(47) Harry Brook 29(26)
==
Looks like an ODI scorecard!
ENG 465 (69.2) CRR: 6.71
Day 1: Stumps - England: 465 All out (69.2 Ovs), Jack Leach 7(18) Ollie Robinson 16(13)
Day 1: Dinner - England: 375/5 (52 Ovs), Ben Foakes 33(38) Daniel Lawrence 85(52)
Day 1: Tea - England: 169/3 (26 Ovs) Joe Root 58(47) Harry Brook 29(26)
==
Looks like an ODI scorecard!
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Nikhil_cric
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England continue on their merry ways
ENG 465 (69.2) CRR: 6.71
Day 1: Stumps - England: 465 All out (69.2 Ovs), Jack Leach 7(18) Ollie Robinson 16(13)
Day 1: Dinner - England: 375/5 (52 Ovs), Ben Foakes 33(38) Daniel Lawrence 85(52)
Day 1: Tea - England: 169/3 (26 Ovs) Joe Root 58(47) Harry Brook 29(26)
==
Looks like an ODI scorecard!
This is the most impressive performance of Bazball. Didn't think they could replicate it on NZ pitches.
Robert
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Root, Stokes, Foakes, and perhaps Brook apart, they don’t have the skill-set. They just don’t see this sort of wicket in England & Wales any more.
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Writing in his Daily Mail column ahead of the upcoming Test series against New Zealand, England pacer Stuart Broad believed that England’s cricketing approach would prove to be infectious.
England, under the leadership of Ben Stokes and with former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum as the head coach, have tasted great success in Test cricket, winning nine of the 10 Tests ever since the two took over in the respective roles at the start of their home summer last year.
They started off with a 3-0 clean-sweep of New Zealand at home with successful run-chases in each of the three Tests, before gunning down a 378-run target in just 76.4 overs in the rescheduled Edgbaston Test against India. They rounded off the home season with another 2-1 series win, over South Africa.
A feature of their success was the ultra-aggressive approach, and that was maintained during the Test tour of Pakistan, as they swept the series 3-0, their first away win against the opponents since 2000-01. A key highlight was their staggering 506/4 on Day 1 of the first Test in Rawalpindi, which is an all-time record score on the opening day of a Test.
Senior speedster Stuart Broad, who has been a part of the England Test setup for more than 15 years, believes that other cricketing nations would look to emulate England’s approach in future. He also emphasised that England’s method had a place for cricketers with different styles.
“There has been some attention on whether other teams will try to emulate our positive approach to Test cricket and, although it hasn’t been evident yet, they will in time because players have so much expansion in their games now,” Broad stated in his Daily Mail column.
“Yet you must also play your own style. For example, I wouldn’t expect Sir Alastair Cook to come in and hit 80 off 50. He did all right scoring his 12,000 Test runs with his own method and he would still work in this team.”
Broad further added that certain aggressive players from the recent past might have benefited from adopting the new-found approach.
“But I could envisage certain players of the recent past that might be looking at us and thinking of what might have been. Shane Watson coming in at six in a team like this? You’d be licking your lips.”
The pacer believed that other sides might try to “speed up” because it would make results possible on flatter decks. He added that fans were more accepting of this approach to the game.
“One of the reasons that I believe others will try to speed up, though, is that you can get results out of draws, particularly on flat pitches,” said Broad, the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests currently with 566 scalps from 159 Tests.
“We’ve already witnessed that fans allow you that extra bit of leeway to be aggressive because they know how enjoyable it is to watch and so, when we are 50 for eight, we are not mauled for a bad performance.”
The first of two New Zealand vs England Tests will be played at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui from Thursday, February 16.
England, under the leadership of Ben Stokes and with former New Zealand captain Brendon McCullum as the head coach, have tasted great success in Test cricket, winning nine of the 10 Tests ever since the two took over in the respective roles at the start of their home summer last year.
They started off with a 3-0 clean-sweep of New Zealand at home with successful run-chases in each of the three Tests, before gunning down a 378-run target in just 76.4 overs in the rescheduled Edgbaston Test against India. They rounded off the home season with another 2-1 series win, over South Africa.
A feature of their success was the ultra-aggressive approach, and that was maintained during the Test tour of Pakistan, as they swept the series 3-0, their first away win against the opponents since 2000-01. A key highlight was their staggering 506/4 on Day 1 of the first Test in Rawalpindi, which is an all-time record score on the opening day of a Test.
Senior speedster Stuart Broad, who has been a part of the England Test setup for more than 15 years, believes that other cricketing nations would look to emulate England’s approach in future. He also emphasised that England’s method had a place for cricketers with different styles.
“There has been some attention on whether other teams will try to emulate our positive approach to Test cricket and, although it hasn’t been evident yet, they will in time because players have so much expansion in their games now,” Broad stated in his Daily Mail column.
“Yet you must also play your own style. For example, I wouldn’t expect Sir Alastair Cook to come in and hit 80 off 50. He did all right scoring his 12,000 Test runs with his own method and he would still work in this team.”
Broad further added that certain aggressive players from the recent past might have benefited from adopting the new-found approach.
“But I could envisage certain players of the recent past that might be looking at us and thinking of what might have been. Shane Watson coming in at six in a team like this? You’d be licking your lips.”
The pacer believed that other sides might try to “speed up” because it would make results possible on flatter decks. He added that fans were more accepting of this approach to the game.
“One of the reasons that I believe others will try to speed up, though, is that you can get results out of draws, particularly on flat pitches,” said Broad, the fifth-highest wicket-taker in Tests currently with 566 scalps from 159 Tests.
“We’ve already witnessed that fans allow you that extra bit of leeway to be aggressive because they know how enjoyable it is to watch and so, when we are 50 for eight, we are not mauled for a bad performance.”
The first of two New Zealand vs England Tests will be played at the Bay Oval, Mount Maunganui from Thursday, February 16.
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England, nine down, declared their first innings on 325 so they can bowl in the twilight - This BazBall!
Robert
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My only criticism is that Root doesn't have to play these reverse scoops to score fast. He can bang out a run-a-ball hundred with no risk.
gibsyhesperis
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Let’s see how “Bazball” works when the wicket is ragging square from day 1 in India.
Sharma played a truly majestic innings in the first test vs Aus with a strike rate of about 55. Jadeja played a crucial innings at a strike rate of 37 over four hours
One has to admire the self-confidence of India to play the game the way they want and to their strengths and ignoring others.
We should not be suckered into blindly aping other sides but play to our strengths (assuming we have any….)
James
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I’m not sure if this is the way for all teams to bat in Test cricket, but a 90% success rate under the current leadership proves that it is working for England.
What Ben and Baz have (correctly) identified within English cricket is that the strength of current generation England batsmen (apart from Joe Root) is in their strike rates first and their averages second. So, they have told them to score just quickly against the red ball as they do against the white ball.
England in the recent past were often scrapping and scratching for 100+ overs to get ~350. If they batted poorly, it was 50 overs all out for ~160. It was almost always dreadful to watch. And if they batted “sensibly”, Baz knows full well that this would still be the case today. Harry Brook aside, the players now are just the same players as before.
1 win in 17 Tests is a record that does not lie. England were playing too traditionally, too slowly, not getting themselves into enough games to compete and force matchwinning situations.
Now, all that has changed.
A mentality has now been bred and an approach drilled in wherein England knows that if they bat for two sessions or so, they’ll score 300 runs and be “in the game”. They aren’t concerned about losing wickets.
I’m along for the ride. As an England fan who has endured decades of underperformance, frustration and cowardice, and often poor results, I’ll take this new and occasionally messy but winning approach, every day of the week.
What Ben and Baz have (correctly) identified within English cricket is that the strength of current generation England batsmen (apart from Joe Root) is in their strike rates first and their averages second. So, they have told them to score just quickly against the red ball as they do against the white ball.
England in the recent past were often scrapping and scratching for 100+ overs to get ~350. If they batted poorly, it was 50 overs all out for ~160. It was almost always dreadful to watch. And if they batted “sensibly”, Baz knows full well that this would still be the case today. Harry Brook aside, the players now are just the same players as before.
1 win in 17 Tests is a record that does not lie. England were playing too traditionally, too slowly, not getting themselves into enough games to compete and force matchwinning situations.
Now, all that has changed.
A mentality has now been bred and an approach drilled in wherein England knows that if they bat for two sessions or so, they’ll score 300 runs and be “in the game”. They aren’t concerned about losing wickets.
I’m along for the ride. As an England fan who has endured decades of underperformance, frustration and cowardice, and often poor results, I’ll take this new and occasionally messy but winning approach, every day of the week.
Robert
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Agree on all counts.
As I say, Root should just bat like Root instead of smash everything.
It's interesting that BMac and Stokes have chosen to go with the old school batting approach of Foakes though. He acts as a bulwark should Bazball fail, stopping a collapse.
England have revolutionised how cricket should be player it’s a breath of fresh air and I can see them dominating world cricket alongside India for the next few decades. England, India and Australia will many ICC trophies in the coming years mark my words guys. Blessed cricketing nations which other nations should envy
Bazball will work much better than England's traditional approach.
Smith is the only batsman that has successfully played out ashwin and jadeja on a raging turner with the traditional approach.
Ultimate goal is to outscore opposition whether it's scored at SR of 120 or SR of 35.
So the question is will England be able to score more by batting "sensibly"?
Visiting teams are surviving of 60-70 overs and scoring 150-200 runs. England maybe dismissed for 45 overs, but will end up with 250 runs.
It doesn't make any sense for player like Root who can easily score quickly and score 100s by playing defensively.
gibsyhesperis
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Absolutely, fully agree.
Root is the stand-out batter in the England side — such a shame he feels compelled to play in a way that is alien to his norm.
Let Duckett, Brook et al go hell for leather — Root should go along serenely. He’ll score a lot of runs and his strike rate in Tests is over 50 which is fine.
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Saurav
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Waiting for Eng tour of India. That'll be their ultimate Test.
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England setting the benchmark.
Is this a sustainable model or works for England with the current set of players? Will we see the same in County games?
Is this a sustainable model or works for England with the current set of players? Will we see the same in County games?
Robert
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I think Baz and Ben are selecting guys who are aggressive and fearless.
James
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Baz and Ben have created a team for us to be proud of and they have made it fun to be an England fan again. That’s all we are really bothered about. We know it won’t last forever but we are along for the ride that they are taking us on. It has been a pretty miserable time supporting England in Test cricket over the years, and particularly since the dying days of Cook’s captaincy. We are just enjoying this.
Thank you Ben Stokes and Baz. You have done the unthinkable - you have made an England fan out of me. I grew up during the days of “Anyone but England” because of the pompous attitude of English commentators, the county selection system that pretty much excluded people of my background to go far.
Not only that, England’s style of play (with a few exceptions like David Gower) was extremely boring and English sport seemed to hype a lot of mediocrity because of their “brave”, “plucky loser” performances.
These guys have come in and raised the bar, they’ve played revolutionary cricket. I take my hat off to them!
Not only that, England’s style of play (with a few exceptions like David Gower) was extremely boring and English sport seemed to hype a lot of mediocrity because of their “brave”, “plucky loser” performances.
These guys have come in and raised the bar, they’ve played revolutionary cricket. I take my hat off to them!
sweep_shot
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Not every team can pull this off. They simply don't have the players to do this.
Even England may struggle to continue Bazball after this golden generation retires.
Can England do this on dust bowl pitches? That would be interesting.
Even England may struggle to continue Bazball after this golden generation retires.
Can England do this on dust bowl pitches? That would be interesting.
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jnaveen1980
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In order to pull this off you need atleast 3 or 4 players to be in form. If you have out of form players then this will become counter productive. An year back Root was the only one who could put bat to ball. Others were clueless. Now they have some inform players especially Brook. So teams will start exclusively focus on Brook. Root and Brook carry this side now much like Root and Bairstow did before.
Not everythign is about india, and india isn't the ultimate test. That's like saying doing in it on rainy night at stokes.
Ultimate test is when scales are even against a fromidable opponent, matches in india are rigged affair from the start, no issues with pitch rigging, but calling it ultimate test is just out of touch with reality.
Front Foot Pull
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yeah you had it till the last and then ended it with biased allegation.
yes, if this england team wins in most places then it will be a successful one and will be famed & talked about for long. winning in india gives any team good name but losing (if) in india itself shouldn't take it away completely from them. if they win more matches & more places, more praise, simple.
then you went on about 'pitch rigging' and gave a certificate of no issues. every host nation has their own oppointed curators and are making pitches as per their wish. stats show that. but not all teams have the players to exploit it.
I am sorry i wasn't able to win certificate of approval from mr front foot pull.
There is no other term for what india does to its pitches other than rigging.
jnaveen1980
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Taking 20 wickets everywhere will be more challenging. Bazball may be new to England. But India has already seen enough. First Sehwag then Pant. I remember Strauss set a target of 385 with 4 sessions to go. India got bowled out for 241 in the first innings. Their hope was Swann running through India on a 5th day pitch. But Sehwag went after it thrashing Anderson/Harmsion. India was 45/0 in the first 5 overs. By the time Sehwag got out for 83 in 68 balls India had a great head start. It helped Tendulkar and Yuvraj finish off the chase next day. Gilchrist from the 2000s, Pant more recently have proved how counter attacking can change the game on its head. First SCG draw then Gabba win. Most recently Pant did his own thing against England. INdia's woeful top order once again let India down.
Front Foot Pull
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fine, adopt such coping mechanism.
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England brought T20 batting to ODIs under Morgan/Bayliss and have now brought ODI batting to Tests under Stokes/McCullum.
Just as in ODIs, all Test sides will have to start slowly adapting or get left behind.
Just as in ODIs, all Test sides will have to start slowly adapting or get left behind.
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