‘We Didn’t Need Bazball To Beat AUS’ – Nasser Hussain
England’s narrow two-wicket defeat to Australia in the first Test match of the Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston turned out to be a complete entertainer. England’s ‘Bazball’ tactics came under the scanner as the Australians outplayed them and won took a lead of 1-0 in the 5-match Ashes 2023 series.
For the unversed, England has completely changed their approach in the Test format ever since all-rounder Ben Stokes and former Kiwi skipper Brendon McCullum took over the charge of the Test team. The batters have been constantly playing with the attacking and explosive approach which is also known as ‘Bazball’.
Baz is the nickname of McCullum, and he was known for his explosive batting approach. England has ended up being on the winning side 11 times out of the 15 Test matches they have played under Stokes and Brendon McCullum.
Though, England’s ‘Bazball’ strategy has worked well for them. The England cricket team were the favorites to win the game but their bold decision to declare the first innings at 393/8 on Day 1 backfired badly.
The Pat Cummins-led Australian side chased down a target of 281 runs with just 27 balls remaining to go 1-0up in the five-match Ashes 2023 series. Australian skipper Pat Cummins played an instrumental role in the famous win as he stepped up with the bat and played a crucial knock. With England steadily taking control over the game by taking quick wickets of the Aussies, Cummins stabilized the innings. He played an unbeaten knock of 44 runs and stitched an unbeaten partnership of 55 runs for the ninth wicket with Nathan Lyon (16*) to take his side home in the chase of 281.
Following Australia’s big win, several cricketers and experts came forward to question the tactics and mindset of Ben Stokes. The latest one to join the bandwagon is former England captain turned pundit Nasser Hussain.
Nasser Hussain claimed that the England cricket team doesn’t need the Bazball approach. He said:
“Remember, we have beaten Australia in England since 2001 playing the old fashioned way. We didn’t need a ‘bazball’ to beat Australia. They have some serious players and some seriously tough players too. You can’t hide behind that (want to entertain). If you remember, England also lost in New Zealand. I know they had Ireland in the middle, but now they have lost here and there are two games of cricket they could have won, they should have won.”
Brendon McCullum Gave A Fitting Reply
However, the comments didn’t go down well with the head coach Brendon McCullum, who defended the team’s ‘Bazball’ tactics, saying that the application of the tactics of superb. While speaking in the press interaction McCullum said,
“The application of how we want to play the right way was fantastic. Sometimes things didn’t go our way, but that’s the nature of the game.”
Meanwhile, the second Test match of the Ashes 2023 series will be played at the Lord’s cricket ground in London from June 28, 2023.
