‘Bazball!’ The vocabulary of the new brand of test cricket that England have adopted in the last couple of years is going to meet its real challenger in the challenging conditions is what the head coach of the England Cricket team reckons. Brandon McCullum hints that England are going to unleash a full-fledged ‘Bazball’ as England are scheduled to travel to India for a 5-match Test Series in late January 2024.
Since taking over as England’s coach in May of last year, McCullum has drawn the Ashes, swept Pakistan, and enjoyed victory against New Zealand, and India in the fifth Test match that was rescheduled for the 2021 series. The possibility of beating India in a Test series at home, though, seems to be McCullum’s greatest accomplishment as a coach because no side has done so in more than 10 years.
As England will tour India, the first of the five test matches will start on January 25 in Hyderabad, followed by Visakhapatnam, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamshala. Except for Dharamshala, the conditions that India will play against England are more likely going to be spin-friendly and that is where India become unbeatable at home.
McCullum Hints A Full Throttle ‘Bazball’ Against India
McCullum spoke on the RCB Innovation Lab program, “We have got a huge challenge against a very good Indian team in five tests in India.”
“I am excited about it because you want to test yourself against the best side and I genuinely believe that India is the best in their own condition. It is going to be a good challenge for us. If we have success then fabulous, if we don’t then I know we will go down in the style that we want to go down.”
“We are playing the game, because we love cricket and we want to try and be as good at cricket as we possibly can. During the time that you are in the chair, you want to make sure you enjoy it and you shouldn’t wait till the end of your career to do so,” he said.
He also spoke a few words on the approach that players have in their mind and said, “We are very lucky that we have had some immediate success but I don’t think it is the ceiling for us. I think we have seen some guys who have unlocked their potential in the last 18 months or so and that’s what the job is as a leader; to get the most out of the people that you’re in charge of.”
Even though the series is still almost two months away, its popularity has increased because of England’s Bazball approach—a word that has entered the language. Bazball is defined by the Collins dictionary as “a style of Test cricket in which the batting side plays in a highly aggressive manner.” However, given that Indian wickets aren’t exactly known for being pace-friendly, is it a strategy that will work here?
When media questioned India coach Rahul Dravid about Bazball in July, before to the Edgbaston Test, he responded, “Don’t really know what’s that.” A few days later, England defeated India by 7 wickets, and he got the class the hard way. In less than two years, Dravid is going to have his chance to level the playing field. McCullum indicated that England will go on playing the unique style of cricket, suggesting that Bazball will be unleashed.
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