Cricket News

It’s one of the worst things I have ever heard- Andrew Flintoff on England’s “Bazball” method

Former England cricketer Andrew Flintoff admitted that he is not a huge admirer of the “Bazball” tag given to England’s new style of cricket. Brought on by the new England head coach Brendon McCullum and enforced by captain Ben Stokes, the aggressive, attacking, and no holding back type style of play has reversed England’s Test fortunes dramatically, with only one defeat under the new era so far.

England gave the first view of Bazball to everyone around in their ruthless 3-0 series win over New Zealand a couple of months ago. The side continued to stick with their approach, which gave them a series-levelling win over India in the rescheduled fifth Test. While they faced a heavy defeat against the Proteas in the first Test, they are in pole position to win at Old Trafford.

Andrew Flintoff was very upfront with his views on Bazball. Flintoff said in an interview with I News: “It’s one of the worst things I have ever heard. I’m not interested in that. They’re just playing an exciting brand of cricket that everybody loves watching.”

The new England Test head coach Brendon McCullum, who has been the inspiration behind the name tag, has openly said that he is not a huge fan of the term himself. The former New Zealand cricketer opines that the naming of the term in such a tame fashion does not do justice to the hard work England have put in to implement this new playing style.

This method has reaped dividends for England, they have been unstoppable in tests so far, barring the one defeat against South Africa. The way England is playing Test Cricket currently is very similar to the way they have approached limited overs cricket since the completion of the 2015 World Cup.

Bazball has been making news and it got a lot of reactions after England suffered a heavy defeat from the hands of South Africa. However, England put the tactic to good use in the New Zealand series and in the rescheduled test against India.