Bazball unpacked: Controlled aggression or crash, bang, wallop approach?

England's thrill-a-minute playbook devised by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes could revitalise Test cricket

It was an informal meeting between Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes in May 2022 that turned English cricket on its head, taking it from humiliation to triumph. 

From self-doubt to where they are placed currently: England have won 13 of their last 18 Tests, and staged a resounding comeback from being 2-0 down to draw the high-octane Ashes series, which concluded on July 31.

The meeting came days after McCullum (nicknamed Baz) was appointed England’s head coach, and Stokes the Test captain. 

England had registered just a solitary win from 17 Tests when they took over the reins at the start of the 2022 summer. 

They agreed English cricket needed a dose of flair and a dash of insouciance to get them out of the doldrums.

What followed was one of the most captivating revolutions in the sport, with England, a hitherto dour and rudderless team, metamorphosing into an irresistible outfit.

England adopted an ultra-aggressive approach, which was governed by intent, aggression, and instincts, without worrying about the consequences.

It was an audacious leap into the unknown for English cricket, orchestrated by two New Zealanders – McCullum, a former Black Caps captain, and Stokes, who was born in Christchurch.

Together, they liberated a team that was constantly weighed down by the pressures and expectations of high-stakes international cricket.

This thrilling style of play would not only galvanise English cricket, but also inject much-needed vigour into the game’s most storied format.

ESPNCricinfo journalist Andrew Miller fittingly coined the term “Bazball” to describe this style of play, which, in no time, seamlessly seeped into popular culture.

Fireworks at Rawalpindi

The finest manifestation of Bazball came in December 2022, in faraway Rawalpindi. Batting first, England openers Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley bludgeoned 233 runs in just a shade over 33 overs.

There was no respite for Pakistani bowlers, who, after dismissing Duckett and Crawley for 107 and 122 respectively, would run into a little-known Harry Brook, who smashed an 80-ball 100.

England finished Day 1 at a scarcely believable score of 4/506.

England defeated Pakistan 3-0, thus clinching a historic sweep in a three-match Test series in that country.

Before this tour, England had managed only two Test wins in Pakistan in 30 attempts spread across 61 years.

Scoring at such a frenetic pace gave England’s bowlers ample time to take 20 wickets, thereby increasing the chances of victories and nullifying the prospects of playing out soporific draws.   

Prior to that series against Pakistan, England defeated New Zealand and South Africa at home in the summer.

How did they achieve such a spectacular turnaround in such a short span of time?

McCullum and Stokes handpicked players who were making waves in England’s T20 circuit, and gave them preference over some of the traditional Test players.

Duckett is a case in point. After playing a couple of series in the subcontinent in 2016, he was relegated to playing T20 cricket across England. 

He was subsequently picked in the Test team last year purely on his aggressive batting ability.

Similarly, Brook has showcased his nous in first-class cricket. Nevertheless, he fitted seamlessly in England’s middle-order due to his big-hitting prowess.

England’s No 4 batter Joe Root also blossomed in the Bazball era, amassing 1,527 runs at an impressive average of 59, scoring them at a strike-rate of close to 76.

Even though England wicket-keeper Sam Billings termed it a “controlled aggression,” detractors have often labelled Bazball as a “crash, bang, wallop” approach. 

Roller-coaster Ashes 2023

Things came to a boil in the second Ashes Test at Lord’s when England, after being seemingly well-placed at 1/188 in the first innings, imploded at 325, to hand a 2-0 lead in the series to Australia.

It gave critics ample scope to take a swipe at what they termed a “hit-and-miss” approach.

But in the hotly contested series that ebbed and flowed, England showed conviction in sticking with Bazball.

Their batsmen continued to score at a rollicking pace, registering scores at over five runs per over in the subsequent three Tests.

After the defeat at Lord’s, Stokes summoned pacer Mark Wood and all-rounder Chris Woakes to shore up their bowling resources.

Wood’s hostile bowling – ratcheting up pace in excess of 90 mph – and Woakes’ cricketing smartness had Australia scampering for cover.

Between them, they picked up 33 wickets. 

Australia would go home with the prized urn, but not after frittering away a comprehensive 2-0 lead.

“We talked the talk and we walked the walk,” Stokes said in an interview to Sky Sports at the end of the Ashes series.

In a sense, Bazball upended Test cricket from its laid-back, languid style, and pulled it in the direction of white-ball cricket.

While England’s ultra-aggressive batting approach hogged the limelight (they have scored at 4.83) in the last 15 months, their bowling was equally pivotal to their resurgence.

Under Stokes and McCullum, England have taken 20 wickets in 15 of their 18 Tests.

Barring Ian Botham’s intoxicating highs in 1981 and the pulsating Ashes in 2005, rarely has English cricket captured the public imagination across the UK as it has now.

“Hope we have inspired a new generation of Test fans,” Stokes summed it up during the post-match presentation at the end of this series.

England’s Bazball approach provided the much-need succour to the game’s most storied format, especially at a time when a surfeit of T20 leagues had mushroomed across the globe, and Test cricket was in a dire need of a reboot.

Pakistan, who were at the receiving end at the hands of England last year, made concerted efforts to mirror England’s approach against Sri Lanka in a Test match in Colombo last month.

Pakistan batter Shan Masood revealed how the England series in December 2022 served as a wake-up call for the team.

“The last Test cycle gave us a big reflection, and [the] management was very firm that one of the things that we were lacking was that we were not scoring at as high a rate as our opposition,” Masood said, while addressing a press conference in Colombo.

“We’re living in a day and age when there’re thrill-seeking batsmen going after bowlers, scoring runs and showing off their skills. Yes, we’d like to play a brand of cricket that’s attractive, but we’d like to play a brand of cricket that helps us win games,” he added.

Beyond cricket

The Bazball approach has found takers outside the game of cricket as well.

England’s hockey team took a leaf out of the McCullum-Stokes playbook, and the results were impressive.

They overpowered Wales and Spain at the 2023 Hockey World Cup earlier this year, and went past hosts India in the pool stage, based on the goal difference.

During a Sky Sports podcast, former India wicket-keeper Dinesh Karthik asked Michael Atherton if the current England team was the best he had seen.

Atherton, the former England captain and one of the most authoritative voices in the game, asserted: “I don’t know if this is the best England team ever. But I think they will be remembered for transforming the way the game is played.”

Now that Bazball has survived its toughest challenge against Australia, there’s another insurmountable hurdle in the offing: A series in India early next year.