Latest news with #Bazball2.0
Indian Express
a day ago
- Sport
- Indian Express
Centurions Jamie Smith and Harry Brook offer a peep into Bazball 2.0
England's wicket-keeper Jamie Smith came into bat in the day's second over with the immediate task of denying Mohammed Siraj a dream hat-trick. W, W, W didn't happen, it would be W, W, 4. The fall of Joe Root and Ben Stokes didn't deter Smith from playing an audacious straight drive on Siraj's pitched-up, challenging hat-trick ball. This is how Smith, his partner Harry Brook, and England in general, play. When cornered they hit themselves out of trouble and keep hitting. In a matter of 25 overs, after India had reduced England to 84/5, Smith reached his 100 in 80 balls in the last over of the session. Cricket romanticises those that score before lunch and Smith was every bit the knight in shining white flannels. To make matters worse for India, there were two of them. Equally guilty of creating mayhem at Edgbaston was Brook, the chief of Bazball's youth wing. The two would leave only after England was well and truly in the game. Smith (184 not out) and Brook (158) put on 303 runs for the sixth-wicket partnership. They also ensured that Bazball lived on. Despite being on the ropes, they had entered the ring punching. Like Smith, Brook wasn't bothered by India's massive first innings total of 587, that mini-collapse late on Thursday, the fall of Root and Stokes on Friday. Brook didn't drop the anchor, or become the good old selfless strike-rotator, who let the in-form Smith face more balls. This was a partnership where finders were keepers. Whoever got a loose ball, saw half a chance to score or just felt like swinging the bat, went for the fences. This India-England series is giving a glimpse of the future. Two Indians in their 20s, Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal, showed how India will get their runs in the years to come– correct but at a quick pace. On Friday, two other 20-somethings, Smith and Brook, showcased Bazball 2.0. This version was bolder and madder. The two Kiwis – captain Stokes and coach McCullum – have changed the England batting DNA for good, making the MCC coaching manual redundant. For all its ills and risks, Bazball, when it works, sends rivals into a stupor. They give up on their tried and tested methods that have worked for ages or even a few hours back. For India, bowling the Test line and length was working. That was the reason England were 84/5. Akash Deep overnight and Siraj this morning had got wickets by pitching it up, moving it a bit and surprising batsmen (read Stokes, with a sudden short ball). The old plan was working perfectly. However, about one hour into the game, Prasidh Krishna gave away 23 runs in an over with Smith hitting a six and four to square leg, one boundary between mid-on and mid-wicket and sent one ball straight out of the ground on one bounce. Prasidh's over rattled skipper Shubman. Suddenly, India thought they too needed to set the kind of field that Stokes had, rather successfully, placed during the Shubman-Jadeja partnership on Thursday. This was to be the crucial period of play. Shubman packed the leg-side with six players—three in the area between mid-wicket and fine-leg and three in the same zone but at around 30 yards. Prasidh was asked to bowl short. This was to be a bait. The bowler kept banging the ball and both Smith and Brook kept hitting the ball on the leg-side. The sharp rising ones they played cautiously, the really short one they ferried over the fence and others they rolled their wrists on the ball to take singles. Prasidh didn't seem ready for this role, he lacked discipline. There were a few mis-hits but they were nearly catches. Bazball does require a lot of luck. India's main spinner Jadeja too didn't bowl consistently. Their pitch maps were too scattered to put pressure on the bowlers. On Thursday, Jadeja said they would be going with an in-out field to stop England from running away with the match and also put pressure on them. But the field was more out than in. For most of the day India didn't look like the team that had scored close to 600 runs in the first innings. Most of the time, there were more men guarding the fence than those taking catches. The middle session, like when India was batting, was a one-sided contest. Like when England had given up when Shubman was batting and waited for him to make mistakes, India too waited for Smith and Brook to err. That wasn't to be. England had slightly taken their foot off the pedal after lunch. From being100 or thereabouts in the first, both were around the 150 mark by tea. Records were tumbling and the crowd was getting their money's worth. In the first three days of the Test here, 1058 runs have been scored. Back in the day, this wasn't how it used to be in these parts. In the 2011 series, when only Rahul Dravid among the Indian team could score runs, it was difficult to differentiate between the pitch and outfield. All that has changed. For England's daredevil batting approach to work it needs a docile track that doesn't crumble. It also helps if the boundaries are pulled in, like at Edgbaston. But the batsmen need to have the heart, wits and daring, as Smith and Brook displayed for much of the day.
Yahoo
21-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Bazball's moment of truth arrives in year that will define era of McCullum and Stokes
So where are we up to right now? Still Bazball 2.0? The start of Bazball 3.0? Given Ben Stokes has knocked the grog on the head this year, perhaps it should be Bazball 0.0% ABV. Although, jokes aside, that recent revelation on one of those man-chat podcasts said a fair bit about Stokes's nature. Not only has he temporarily paused drinking during his recovery from hamstring surgery but, so taken by this, he has even bought shares in an alcohol-free spirits company. England's Test captain is someone who, when he sets his mind on something, sees it through to the extreme. Even abstinence. Advertisement Related: Ben Stokes targets No 1 spot in world Test rankings: 'One more place to go' What then of the team that has lived and breathed the Stokes fumes these past three years? After something of a white-knuckle ride, and a few external grumbles about their chiefly gung-ho approach, 2025 pretty much represents the moment of truth: five Tests at home to India and then five away in Australia, with a historic one-off Test against Zimbabwe that starts in Nottingham on Thursday serving as the launchpad. Does this risk over-egging it? After all, Brendon McCullum extended his contract as head coach last summer, expanding it to include the white-ball sides and the 50-over World Cup in 2027. The next edition of the World Test Championship will not even be halfway done by the end of the Ashes and there is a T20 World Cup early next year for Harry Brook, the new limited-overs skipper, to sink his teeth into. In theory, Rob Key's Baz-project is intended to go far longer. But then if the history of English cricket tells us anything – and a reminder came only last winter with the women's team and a bloodbath in Australia that forced a change of captain and coach – it is that these things tend to operate in accordance with the Ashes cycle. Whatever iteration of Bazball this is, its place in history – and a few jobs in the set-up – will likely be defined by the Test results over the 12 months. Advertisement Rewind to 2022 and, as per Stokes, the players were initially told to simply 'cause some chaos'. The subsequent win-loss graph has had more than a touch of bitcoin about it but right now it looks pretty healthy: the most recent update of the ICC Test rankings has shaved off the final results of the period under Joe Root and Chris Silverwood and has England in second place. It makes sense, too, with 22 wins and 12 defeats in this time a ratio that only Australia, in first, have bettered. Unlike four years ago, when Silverwood spoke openly about India at home being used to 'galvanise' the team before that winter's visit to Australia (those words blew up in his face), Stokes and McCullum are trying to play it cool before the ascent. On Wednesday Stokes acknowledged the significance of the year ahead, spoke about the No 1 ranking being an aim, but stressed that all the focus is on Zimbabwe and a Test match that, even cut to four days, has been 22 years in the making. Seeing the tourists lose to a team of rookies last week did not point to a stiff workout, with the bookmakers making England heavy favourites. And so what performances in this match mean is tricky to place, with Stokes heavily hinting that Jacob Bethell, the breakout star in New Zealand last winter, but currently at the Indian Premier League, will come straight back into the side to face India regardless. The question – and one Ollie Pope would probably like to know the answer to – is where? Pope is still the vice-captain, said Stokes, but he will also be aware that, while Bethell's stock was shooting up, his own appeared to be on the wane. Equally, with Bethell said to be open to, err, opening, it may be that Zak Crawley is also looking over his shoulder and something of a bat-off with Pope is taking place this week. The difference, however, is that Pope's numbers against India and Australia drop off compared with his overall record, while Crawley's have grown during his last two outings against them. Runs against Zimbabwe might not change the internal perception. Advertisement Perhaps more relevant to the next 12 months is how the fast bowling stable holds up and this week a pretty green England attack takes the field. Sam Cook makes his Test debut – stellar domestic numbers and injury to Chris Woakes opening the door – and will share the new ball with last year's breakout quick, Gus Atkinson. Then there is a return for Josh Tongue after an 18-month injury ordeal, offering pace, movement and an awkward angle. With Brydon Carse approaching full fitness and Woakes about to make his county return – but Mark Wood out for the summer and Jofra Archer out for four weeks with a hand injury – an oversupply here would be welcome. Plenty comes back to Stokes, however. Having not turned out for Durham this season, this week is as much about the captain's bowling and bridging the gap between training fit and match fit. If needs be, Stokes will also play for the Lions against India A next month. When the hamstring tore for the second time last winter, Stokes was in defiant mood, declaring he would 'fuck shit up' the next time he took the field. That moment has arrived but it may be that, initially, temperance is the way to go.
