Circa 2022, England chased down 277 against New Zealand in the first test at Lord’s, at Nottingham in the 2nd test, England chased down 299 in 50 overs with Jonny Bairstow the chief destroyer, the story was no different at all in the 3rd test at Leeds with England chased 296 in 54 overs. England demolished New Zealand 3-0 in what was to be an evenly-matched test series. The next assignment, the rescheduled 5th test against India was a stern one against a quality side. The result: England trounced India by 7 wickets, & chased down 387, their highest ever in Tests.
This is the ‘New England’ everyone is talking about at the moment with “Baz” Brendon Mccullum in the limelight with English media & fans calling it ‘Bazball’, the reason behind England’s remarkable turnaround in Test cricket. But what is ‘Bazball’ actually? BazBall’ is nothing but the attacking brand of cricket that England have displayed over the course of the last few months. It derives its name from England’s Kiwi head coach Brendon McCullum, who is nicknamed ‘Baz’. Mccullum was known for his attacking style of batting in Tests that brought him many laurels and made him the fourth-highest run scorer for New Zealand in the format.
But that was not the case a few months ago, English test team was in a freefall and had won just one game out of 17 tests and were staring down the barrel, stumbling from one defeat to another. The ‘icing on the cake’ came in the wake of 4-0 Ashes drubbing against Australia. Unsurprisingly, the heads rolled after the horrific show. The 40-year old who was appointed England’s test coach in May this year, seems to have incorporated his own mentality into the England unit, who were in dire need of a fresh start, All-rounder Ben Stokes has replaced Joe Root at the helm, and thus have started the reign of the Stokes- Mccullum regime. However, it still early days to comment on the ‘BazBall’ philosophy, as cricket is also a game of failures. Team India itself is a prime example of this.
The Indian side was one of the most dominating units in the last few years and were ranked No 1 until a while ago. However, of late, they seemed to have lost their mojo. They had a disappointing away tour of South Africa last January, losing 2-1, and most recently against England, who, on the other hand, have tasted success with their new ‘BazBall’ style.
