‘Bazball doesn’t work against world-class bowling attack’ – Former cricketers take a dig at England’s approach following their Lord’s defeat
The term ‘Bazball’ has been doing the rounds in Test cricket since the start of the Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes regime. The infamous ‘Bazball’ theory suffered its first major setback when South Africa thrashed England by an innings and 12 runs in the first Test at the home of cricket- The Lord’s.
England have played an aggressive brand of Test cricket from the time the Kiwi batter took over as coach. This approach paid dividends against New Zealand and India earlier this year. England blanked the Test champions 3-0 and then won the lone Test against India, drawing the five-match series 2-2.
England followed the same fearless approach against the proteas but was outdone by South Africa’s ferocious attack. They were bundled out for 165 and 149 runs in their two innings of the first Test and suffered a humiliating loss at home.
South Africa not only have gone 1-0 up in the three-match Test series but also strengthened their place at the top of the World Test Championship standings. While Dean Elgar-led side was hailed for their remarkable victory, the hosts were trolled by some former cricketers for the failure of their ‘Bazball’ approach.
Before the first test, Elgar had humorously downplayed the threat posed by ‘Bazball’.
“I think it can go one of two ways for them and it can go south very quickly. Their own coach doesn’t even like the slogan they’ve come up with. I’d like to see them do it against our seamers,” the Proteas skipper was quoted as saying to The Guardian.
The South African team will be mighty pleased with the bowling effort of their bowlers. If it was Kagiso Rabada who wreaked havoc in the first innings, Anrich Nortje inflicted the majority of the damage in the second innings.
The loss has led to English supporters questioning the tactics used by the head coach McCullum. The much-hyped ‘Bazball’ idea which calls for playing aggressive cricket on all occasions, succumbed in front of a world-class-proteas bowling attack. Many former cricketers and experts have criticized England’s strategy.
Here are some of the best reactions:
"Bazball has done wonders in the fourth inns"
SA: There will be no fourth inns. #ENGvSA
— Wasim Jaffer (@WasimJaffer14) August 19, 2022
South Africa shows that Bazball doesn't work against world class bowling attack with variety and a sharp captain who sets smart fields. #SAvsENG
— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 19, 2022
For all the talk at Bazball one thing is for sure the great game of test cricket will never change. Batters will always need to earn the right to score runs. It’s interesting to watch how the psyche of batsmen change when there is pace in an opposition bowling attack! #ENGvSA
— Nick Compton (@thecompdog) August 19, 2022
Fantastic win for #SA. England thumped by an innings in under 3 days. Puts BazBall theory in question, but more importantly highlights huge strides made by Proteas in this format in recent past. Hard fought Series win over India and now a victory over high flying England👏👏
— Cricketwallah (@cricketwallah) August 19, 2022
#BouchBall doing the rounds courtesy the fantastic @FirdoseM 😀👍
— Anant Tyagi (@anantyagi_) August 19, 2022
