A year ago, Jonny Bairstow strode out to bat at Trent Bridge, and bludgeoned 136 in little over a session that left, the then, world Test champions, New Zealand, reeling. Bairstow’s innings exemplified the new attacking style of play the England Test team insisted they intended develop.
And in doing so, he became a national hero overnight and scored bags of runs across the rest of the summer.
As an Aussie living in the UK, it was a treat to simply sit back and witness the rise of Bazball and the summer of aggressive, skilful and very entertaining test cricket followed.
New England coach, Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum, may not be not a fan of the name but he is pleased his players clearly relish the attacking approach to Test cricket that was born in the fallout of England’s 4 – 0 drubbing in Australia.
Change was swift after the Ashes embarrassment with the appointment of Rob Key as managing director of men’s cricket, Ben Stokes as captain and Brendon McCullum as coach.
All three were soon outlining a long-term vision where entertainment was significant in the future of the five-day format and results would take care of themselves.
Crucially, if players enjoyed their cricket, they would eliminate the crippling fear of failure that had produced one win in the last seventeen Tests.
Stokes was so committed to the cause he incessantly charged down the wicket to slog the Kiwi bowlers to the boundary throughout the in the first two Tests of the English summer.
It was bizarre behaviour from the new captain who did little more than throw away his wicket cheaply. Fans and commentators might have been bewildered by his repeated cavalier approach but the players soon learnt they would not be punished for aggressively taking the game to the opposition.
With little fear of reprimands, the players stepped up and the cricket that followed was delightful to watch. The home crowds were singing and the scalps kept falling as the exciting cricket was too much for India and South Africa.
England’s Joe Root celebrates reaching his century. (Photo by Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
India had returned for a one-off Test after failing to complete their five-match series the previous summer. Officially the Indians had cited a COVID outbreak for abandoning the tour but they were fortunate enough to have flown out in time to complete quarantine in the UAE for a COVID rescheduled IPL.
Cricket fans were outraged at the intrusion of franchise cricket into the international test schedule and with further impact virtually unavoidable, Bazball is in part and attempt to increase the appeal of Test cricket in a world now dominated by short format and franchise cricket.
We might love the intricacies of the five-day format but it’s time to admit a whole new generation are drawn to in-your-face thrills of T20.
The turnaround in the team’s fortunes was stirring to watch as they went on to win 11 out of the next 14 under Stokes’ captaincy, losing some by the barest of margins, like the one run thriller in Wellington and the two-wicket loss at Edgbaston where Pat Cummins spectacularly steered his side home.
Commentators like Mark Taylor and Ricky Ponting, had missed the heroics of the previous twelve months but praised the new approach for its entertaining cricket that had Australia under the pump until the very end of the fifth day.
England aren’t the shambles that departed Australian shores in 2022. Stokes is a brilliant tactician and his field placings always look to put pressure back on batters with a team now confident enough to play to their strengths.
They still have issues that need ironing out and the loss of Jack Leach to injury was a major blow
The Aussies are the newly crowned World Test Champions. They deserve the title with a capable and settled team that can absorb pressure and win games.
However, it fair to say they spent much of the first test playing catch up to an England side that was always looking to move the game forward.
The next four tests are sure to throw up plenty more curve balls and winning the Ashes won’t be as easy as many people back home think.
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
I read another article which used a boxing analogy and I think that First Test was similar to the opening rounds of a fight, where one of the fighters hasn't really faced his opponents style before. One guy has a plan to come out swinging from ball one and dominate, the other has a plan to sit back, have a look and adjust as best they can, till they get used to how the other guy's going about his work. In this case, it's going to take another Test or two, to see just how each others tactics work. I can't see either deviating too much from what they did at Edgbaston, so it could be the case of last man standing by the end of the 5th Test
Wishy Of Oz
Roar Rookie
Fair points made. There's more to Bazball than an aggressive batting approach, it's more about not letting your dictating the game and keeping you opponent on the back foot. I felt the Aussies fell into that trap and were a bit more reactive, especially in the field. I think they'll learn from that and the win instantly put pressure back onto England before the second test even started.
Wishy Of Oz
Roar Rookie
They have definitely made mistakes, it depends how they learn from it. Last year, thay simply turned up the aggression, which worked for them. Might be different against Australia.
DP Schaefer
Roar Rookie
What were those stats?? 1 win from 7 then 11 from 15? I'd say the change in style was a winner - especially as England almost won the first test and it was bazball that set it up, just some poor fielding that lost it.
Micko
Roar Rookie
The problem is that England don't hold themselves to account for losing now. If they win it's because of their bazball approach, if they lose it's because of their bazball approach. McCullum was claiming it "felt like a win" after losing at Edgbaston. And the Wellington test when they enforced the follow-on (which was naive), they spun it as a positive. They're putting a lot of strain on their bowlers.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
It'll come and It'll go. As Paul Kelly says, "Let the stars keep on turning" we know how to wait
BigGordon
Roar Rookie
An interesting take on Bazball, Wishy. You're obviously a fan of this form of the game, which makes sense given you'd have watched quite a bit of it over the last English summer. I suspect most Australians are more sceptical, mostly because we haven't seen a lot of it and, let's face it, it's being played by Australia's number 1 enemy, so it can't be good! :happy: I also think Bazball is a very deceptive form of batting. You made the comment that Australia spent most of the Test playing catchup, yet at one stage in the England first innings, the Poms were 5 for 176 and in the second were 5 for 150. I'd suggest Australia would have been very happy at that stage of both innings, regardless how fast England were scoring. Perhaps it's better to look at which team won how many sessions and that's where I think the Aussies came out on top. They certainly won the last session, which was the one that counted.