Bazball 2024

[Plugger35]

Bazball should be considered more of a mentality, then a way of playing cricket.

Bazball has now morphed into just mindless slogging. The original idea of bazball, as how i interpreted it, was a way of playing that didn't fear failure/losing.

I think there is a lot of merit in that approach - especially when you have careers riding on the result. These days, with the advert of T20, many players can earn a fortune playing T20 without being test cricketers.

Bazball is just a media buzzword for the way England play test cricket now, McCullum hates the term for it as does Stokes, they never use it.

It's more about having a positive intent and risk losing to win hence their early declarations in NZ and the last Ashes series where they could have just played for a draw the old English way but they took a risk to win the game and make it a more exciting finish and create interest.

I don't see why some people have a problem with that approach, it's what test cricket needs now to compete with T20 cricket these days,

That doesn't mean playing test cricket like a T20 but it needs to be more entertaining to get people to watch rather than the old dull draws.

 

[PhatBoy]

What I dislke is how the poms under the bazball label go around thinking as if they are the inventors of aggressive batting.

They are, as a team-wide no-holds-barred strategy.

Statistics prove it.

 

[It Just Is]

Pumped for the India series. Will be 10x nastier than the ashes.

India might implode if England can knock them off.

 

[Around the Wicket]

Hopefully England can at least win a game early or it'll be a long predictable series to watch.

 

[frankrizzo]

England win on a turner early would certainly make it an interesting series, india s**t themselves pretty fast and went from rank turner to dead track between third and fourth test for us so who knows what their plan would be if bazball actually works on a big spinning pitch.

Still think india should just make pitches with some turn but not rank turners the difference in quality of the two spin attacks will be more obvious on those decks.

 

[PhatBoy]

England win on a turner early would certainly make it an interesting series, india s**t themselves pretty fast and went from rank turner to dead track between third and fourth test for us so who knows what their plan would be if bazball actually works on a big spinning pitch.

Still think india should just make pitches with some turn but not rank turners the difference in quality of the two spin attacks will be more obvious on those decks.

Agreed, Leach is no world beater but he’s consistent and accurate enough that if they put him on a minefield the gap between he and the two Indians would suddenly be non existent and he’d be a ridiculous handful

 

[PhatBoy]

Harry Brook returns to England and will miss entire England series citing personal reasons - I hope whatever it is he’s ok. Seems a likeable type relative to some of his teammates.

Personally I think this all but rules a line through their chances

Aside from Root he’s their best pure batsman and whatever their tactics, a lot rested on him in India. I can’t see how they can win now

 

[swingdog]

Not sure that it’ll make much difference to the overall result.

Could actually help their team balance if they pick a proper wicked keeper in Foakes. I’m expecting that they won’t and that they’ll stick with Bairstow. Cue record number of extras on spinning pitches.

To be successful in a cricketing sense, Bazball needs small grounds, flat pitches and weak opposition. In India, they’re getting small grounds, but that’s it.

 

[PhatBoy]

Not sure that it’ll make much difference to the overall result.

Could actually help their team balance if they pick a proper wicked keeper in Foakes. I’m expecting that they won’t and that they’ll stick with Bairstow. Cue record number of extras on spinning pitches.

To be successful in a cricketing sense, Bazball needs small grounds, flat pitches and weak opposition. In India, they’re getting small grounds, but that’s it.

I think pitches are irrelevant.

If teams don’t - and most at the moment fall into this category - have the personnel to bat ‘to the conditions’ as it were, then what would the benefit be from not playing in the manner they’re trying to play in?

Stacking their team with Rory Burns types to bat around Joe Root and Ben Stokes who are the only two that have proven they can bat in India, and trying to play patient attritional cricket on tough pitches, isn’t going to win them anything.

Nor would it if they tried to survive on flyers in SA or the sort of pitches we have seen in Australia this summer.

You can’t win a fight you aren’t equipped to enter. A boxer can’t jump in the ring with Floyd Mayweather and try and duck and weave and counter him. But they can go in with a plan to get hit by the odd punch themselves but try and land as many of their own as possible

 

[swingdog]

I think pitches are irrelevant.

If teams don’t - and most at the moment fall into this category - have the personnel to bat ‘to the conditions’ as it were, then what would the benefit be from not playing in the manner they’re trying to play in?

Stacking their team with Rory Burns types to bat around Joe Root and Ben Stokes who are the only two that have proven they can bat in India, and trying to play patient attritional cricket on tough pitches, isn’t going to win them anything.

Nor would it if they tried to survive on flyers in SA or the sort of pitches we have seen in Australia this summer.

You can’t win a fight you aren’t equipped to enter. A boxer can’t jump in the ring with Floyd Mayweather and try and duck and weave and counter him. But they can go in with a plan to get hit by the odd punch themselves but try and land as many of their own as possible

Their plan is based on the strengths of their batters being able to hit through the line off a true pitch. That’s what they’ve been given so far.

 

[PhatBoy]

Their plan is based on the strengths of their batters being able to hit through the line off a true pitch. That’s what they’ve been given so far.

Not when they went to NZ.

Not at Lords when the beat the Kiwis by 5 wickets. They chased down 280 but they did it after both teams had been bowled out for under 200 in the first innings. Joe Root hit 115 off 170 to get them home in a canter.

Not at Headingley where the highest score for the match was 360 against NZ and both sides had to recover from being 5-120, 5-50 and 5-160.

At old Trafford against SA both sides were popped out for under 150 in their first innings. SA’s attack goes ok too….

It is time people actually took the blinkers off and gave England, hard as it is to like them I know - I dislike them too - credit where it is due.

 

[akkaps]

If teams don’t - and most at the moment fall into this category - have the personnel to bat ‘to the conditions’ as it were, then what would the benefit be from not playing in the manner they’re trying to play in?

This is what shits me the Aussies whining about travelling to India. They know India are gonna heck with the pitches, so then take a versatile squads and make changes as you go
But say nothing against how teams are not prepared for the bounce in Perth.

Pitches should only be given bad ratings if they are actually dangerous or injurious to the player

 

[swingdog]

This is what shits me the Aussies whining about travelling to India. They know India are gonna * with the pitches, so then take a versatile squads and make changes as you go
But say nothing against how teams are not prepared for the bounce in Perth.

Pitches should only be given bad ratings if they are actually dangerous or injurious to the player

That could be extended to whether the match is essentially a lottery when batting.

 

[Gethelred]

The thing is, they've had relative success with bazball on tricky decks before.

If nothing else, it'll be interesting no matter what happens.

 

[frankrizzo]

They probably still won't play foakes, bairstow keeping in India will cost them at least one test

 

[PhatBoy]

They probably still won't play foakes, bairstow keeping in India will cost them at least one test

It may.

His batting has already won them 3-4 in their current spell so it’s a tricky trade off

 

[frankrizzo]

It may.

His batting has already won them 3-4 in their current spell so it’s a tricky trade off

They can play bairstow as a batsman though and foakes as keeper it's not like foakes is a terrible batsman anyway but his keeping is so good he could be a potential match winner with gloves in India.

 

[The 747]

Well, if they put out the junk that passes for Test pitches in India that we got Bazball could go alright. A few quick 50s can turn those games, since India can't really bat on them either.

Should be an interesting series.

 

[frankrizzo]

Well, if they put out the junk that passes for Test pitches in India that we got Bazball could go alright. A few quick 50s can turn those games, since India can't really bat on them either.

Should be an interesting series.

Not like anything else works in India, we had decent enough tours last two times but still fell well short of the win, nobody knows how to win in India maybe ultra attacking on turners is the way.

 

[10Dulkar]

Kohli will miss the first two tests for personal reasons. The much discussed Sarfaraz Khan is in the frame to replace him.

 

[PhatBoy]

Kohli will miss the first two tests for personal reasons. The much discussed Sarfaraz Khan is in the frame to replace him.

Even allowing for the home factor India’s batting suddenly looks incredibly thin with no Kohli there. Sharma back at home is still a force to be reckoned with and that hundred against Australia last year was a Masterclass but it’s a real lottery around him.

England may well crumble and it won’t be a surprise if they do but equally it may only take 2 bazball freak innings for them to upset the apple cart

 

[Cainozz]

India looking a little vulnerable for sure. If I were them I’d probably recall Pujara or Rahane for the extra experience to
replace Kohli as a stop gap. The rest of the batting lineup other than Rohit seems pretty shakey and unproven.

Pope and Bairstow for England had a torrid time in India last time. Their best bet is to just use their feet and score quickly off as many balls.

 

[akkaps]

In Pujara's 5 innings this Ranji Trophy, he has scored 444 runs with an average of 111 and a high score of 243*

 

[PhatBoy]

India looking a little vulnerable for sure. If I were them I’d probably recall Pujara or Rahane for the extra experience to
replace Kohli as a stop gap. The rest of the batting lineup other than Rohit seems pretty shakey and unproven.

Pope and Bairstow for England had a torrid time in India last time. Their best bet is to just use their feet and score quickly off as many balls.

Agree 1000 per cent.

Pujara needs an SOS as far as I’m concerned.

 

[Cainozz]

In Pujara's 5 innings this Ranji Trophy, he has scored 444 runs with an average of 111 and a high score of 243*

I’m probably not in the loop enough with Indian selection but what’s the reason Pujara keeps getting dropped? To me he’s absolutely made for test cricket and you’d kill for a no.3 with that wealth of experience and technique.