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Discussing Bazball approach in Test Cricket

Sunil1z

International Debutant
I hope a thread doesn’t exist on this topic . This can no longer be ignored imo . Dismissing it would be like dismissing entire career achievements of Sehwag/ Hayden as FTB . Should other teams also use this approach? Or Other teams should stick to their normal method. And as a bowling team can Bazball be countered by setting ODI like field ( 21-40 overs ) ?
 

BazBall21

International Regular
England have the stroke players and power players to make it work and we have also played on relatively flat pitches this year. The aggression is a net positive but it won't be as successful against Australia next summer. I think you need some aggression in a Test batting lineup, but players should still play to their strengths.
 

Ashes81

State Vice-Captain
McCullum himself hates the term Bazball and I'm with him on that.

What he's been able to do is free up the players - to take away the fear of failure.
Too often in the past many of our batsmen have been paralysed by the fear of failing, of their technique being pulled apart on TV and in the press.

McCullum has done for the test team what Farbrace and Bayliss did for the ODI side. Freed up from the fear of failure we went from a laughing stock to the best team in the world in a few short years.

The players obviously have bought in to it and are really enjoying playing under McCullum and Stokes.

Today was a classic example of McCullum's thinking. Yes the pitch was a road and yes Pakistan didn't bowl well but players like Duckett and Crawley, who were both under pressure, played like they didn't have a care in the world.

Johnny Bairstow last summer was unbelievable - it looked like his test career was more or less over, now he's ranked in the World's top 10.

What Bazball shouldn't be is playing wrecklessly and at times last summer we played like that, Stokes being the chief culprit.

It's still test cricket and you have to play the conditions and the state of the match at times.

Next summer will be so interesting in the Ashes. Can we perform or will the series be a step too far.
 

TheGreatest

U19 Cricketer
Because other teams are Winning with normal method . England adopted this approach after they consistently lost with their normal method.
Interesting....then surely a team like Bangladesh should experiment with it.

I hope SA use it in the forthcoming series against Australia. We have the players to do it.
 

Ashes81

State Vice-Captain
Because other teams are Winning with normal method . England adopted this approach after they consistently lost with their normal method.
We changed coaches because Silverwood's position was untenable after the Ashes debacle.

Rob Key contacted McCullum about the ODI role but McCullum said he was more interested in the test role.

Whoever McCullum coaches will play that way - if he'd taken over as coach of NZ or Aus, he'd get them playing like England are now.

We changed coaches because of poor results but if we'd gone down a different route with our coach, we wouldn't be playing like we are now.
 

Sunil1z

International Debutant
We changed coaches because Silverwood's position was untenable after the Ashes debacle.

Rob Key contacted McCullum about the ODI role but McCullum said he was more interested in the test role.

Whoever McCullum coaches will play that way - if he'd taken over as coach of NZ or Aus, he'd get them playing like England are now.

We changed coaches because of poor results but if we'd gone down a different route with our coach, we wouldn't be playing like we are now.
Fully agree. And the way Eng is playing cricket atm it will soon become most of the people’s 2nd favourite team .

When Sehwag’s 83 helped India chase 387 against ENG in 08 , most of the opposition captains used to think atleast twice about declaring against us in their 3rd innings because they felt that no total was safe ( atleast till 2011 ) . I think current England team has instilled same fear in opposite teams.
 

Ashes81

State Vice-Captain
Trust me this approach by England will not work when they play in my country.
I think whatever approach we take in S Africa, England will find it tough going because you have a top notch bowling attack.

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

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

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

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

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

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

Pup Clarke

Cricketer Of The Year
I think what McCullum is doing very well is taking the spotlight away from the players. I'm also hypothezing here, but I don't imagine he's chastising Crawley, Brook etc in the nets if they play aggressively and get themselves out multiple times

Almost mirroring the corporate jargon espoused daily- "work smarter not harder"
 

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