BazBall, a new term which is slowly making its way into the world of English cricket. It has been reverberating for some time. Commentators speak about it, people buzz about it on social media. Well, England’s recent approach to playing Test cricket is a perfect testament to what it stands for. So what is this term “Bazball”? Let’s have a look:
What is “Bazball”?
This term, obviously, is taken from England’s red ball head coach Brendon McCullum’s nickname, ‘Baz.’ England cricket was already struggling in the red-ball format upon which the worst of all was the Ashes defeat last year. Having hit rock bottom, England cricket needed to come up with innovation and fresh change in management. The appointments of Brendon McCullum as Test head coach and Ben Stokes as skipper in the red-ball format were ECB’s way of reviving the Test side.
Ever since McCullum aka ‘Baz’ took over as England Test team’s head coach, there has been a fresh approach to the side’s Test playing temperaments. Much like how he was in his playing days, the English team now have a fearless approach to Test cricket, attacking right from the beginning. One can argue that this is in stark contrast to the good old-fashioned Test cricket playing style but if it’s reaping rewards for England. England batters seem to be more confident nowadays than how they did, a year ago.
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Surely England loves chasing now
Now, no total is totally safe in cricket especially when a side is chasing. When Ben Stokes said at the toss ahead of the fifth Test against India, that his side ‘loves chasing,’ he surely meant business. And England are well and truly on their way to pulling off a massive chase against India. Something very few could have thought of. That’s exactly what BazBall means.
Yes, this new approach has its negatives as well. There might be collapses occurring frequently but that’s part of the process. But such things are unlikely to happen with England now. Since they have so many top-quality players stacked into one team and most of them appear to be in form. Even in the recent Test against India, they are making a cakewalk of a 378-run chase, something that was expected to be a tough task.
