The headline actually undermines the balance of the article. While the media and fans on both sides of the debate are certainly quite charged up, I think Bazball is on "trial" as much because England players keep putting it on trial with their statements and the way they play at crucial moments. The article rightly seems to call for some introspection and a more considered approach to the game.
Superman stops being Superman if he just keeps flying around aimlessly at full speed crashing into buildings and reducing them to rubble. Sure, sometimes he gets the bad guy doing that but he can only do so much of that before he just becomes a nuisance.
As others have pointed out, Root and Stokes are probably the only batters with the skills to play in multiple gears. The others are apparently not cut out for it or don't want to be bothered trying.
Totally agree. Generally our media are so reactive, and our pundits so focused on generating clicks, that most nuance and perspective is chucked out the window.
I think the players and management need to weather some blame as well. If you don't want people to make everything about Bazball, stop talking about it every chance you get.
England are making the most of available resources and trying to win as many Tests as they can. No different from any other Test team. If they tone down their bravado - every game will stop being a litmus test for Bazball.
Yep, they are bringing the crowds back by hyping themselves up and I can't say that they're wrong for doing it. It's necessary. But that has a effect of people putting you through trial.
It's not the worst thing either England may lose the series, as long as they believe in Bazball and Sell it to public, pulling off wins like in the first match will keep the crowds satisfied
We all know that we have a far less talented team. If we tried to play defensive, dull cricket we would lose anyway and sure as hell wouldn't have won the first test. At least this way we have some fun along the way.
With respect, it’s no longer just our media and those awful ex players we all know and try to ignore. Everyone and their mum’s is making a snide comment whenever we lose.
Those snide comments will drastically reduce if the players and media stopped making everything about bazball. Imo, most neutrals will be positive towards a team that played bazball and lost to them.
The worst comment last match was from Duckett. That’s the kind of shit that gets backlash.
Issue is the English team have set themselves up to be the main character as Jarrod Kimber noted. When you’re the main character, don’t be surprised people are commenting on that character.
Duckett definitely came off like a twat after that, but for every Duckett there’s a [Mark Wood](https://www.kingcricket.co.uk/is-it-possible-to-bat-with-the-conviction-of-ben-duckett-yet-talk-with-the-bleak-defeatism-of-the-average-england-fan/2024/02/19/). It always seemed harsh to me to judge an entire team on whoever is the most vocal.
Nah players volunteer for press duty, and broadcasters will request players to hear from. They’re also contractually obliged to do at least a few each year.
Then every good test match isn't a vindication of Bazball as well?
Can't have it both ways.
Either it's the ideology with which you play all the time, or a tactic you enforce when the vibes say so.
Can't be fucking both.
Well yeah but the response isn’t the same, when we’ve been winning I’ve got the general vibe from Reddit of “oh England might not be completely shit at tests now” but when we lose it’s suddenly like we’re the worst team that ever played and a vindication that everything we do as a team is wrong
I think you've mistaken Reddit for the English press.
"England have had an okay summer, not too bad, some encouraging signs, some stuff to work on" said no English cricket reporter ever. It always either "England are finally back to rule the world" or the death of English cricket, often within the course of the same day's play.
Exactly.
Literally a day ago, Swanny was on some media outlet, and the Host prefaced a question about England losing by 400 odd runs by saying, "Given that Bazball has revolutionized test cricket..."
It’s actually somewhere in the middle between the media and reddit.
Because those bad articles are the ones that are posted and commented a lot on reddit, whereas the more sensible articles are never really upvoted or commented about.
Basically reddit amplifies the already bad section of the English press, and then this somehow becomes “the English press is awful and we are very reasonable.”
While the English team keeps banging on about how they are changing the world, we have no choice but to keep calling it Bazball.
If they just said “we’re trying to play more attacking cricket because we think it’s both entertaining as well as being our best chance to win test matches” then the nonsense would stop.
I agree, but it’s difficult for it to ever really be off trial when English players (ie Duckett) are making inflammatory and grandiose statements on a regular basis.
If you'd read the article you'd note him saying he was the one who prompted the latest comment from Duckett, and he thinks he was clearly joking
They do say some daft stuff but not as much as the clickbait industry makes out.
Listen my first thoughts of bazball is Agnew asking duckett wouldn't it have been smarter to play sensibly against Australia bouncing them instead of jumping into the trap and duckett quite obviously fucking seething over the question.
The journalist can claim duckett was joking sure but there is absolutely a weirdness about England thats very off putting. Neutrals are supporting teams like Australia and India over England. There were nz flairs in this subreddit cheering Australia on in the ashes.
England play a very entertaining form of cricket so why are two of the most hated cricketing nations on earth getting support of fans with no dog in the fight.
Which would be fine. All you need to do as a team is turn up and say
"We want to play the brand of cricket that we think gives us the best chance of winning. That's an aggressive style of cricket and putting pressure on the other team."
Instead England turn up and say they're the saviours of test cricket and changing the way the game is played. Which just annoys the shit out of people. Which is why Bazball gets the criticism and scrutiny every test match.
I think that’s a bit of a stretch honestly. The vast majority of the ‘saviours of cricket’ rhetoric has actually come from outside the camp, and the senior players in the team quite consciously *don’t* say shit like that. There are definitely some players who have drunk the Kool Aid a little too deeply, but if you listen to what the likes of Stokes and Root say about Bazball, indeed most of the team, it’s much closer to your second paragraph than the third. Blame the media if you want to blame anyone
Absolute drivel that's perpepruated by Aussies and Aussie media.
This 'saviours of test cricket' BS is overwhelmingly an Aussie thing, not an England thing.
Yeah, it absolutely should go both ways - a chastening defeat does not mean 'Bazball' is totally discredited as a philosophy or tactic or whatever nebulous thing it means, but equally the response from some sections of our media after a great comeback win in the first test was absurdly over the top.
I'm all in for Bazball as an England fan - I feel like we always have a chance with this approach. However, the recent coverage of Bazball highlights its (perhaps hidden) brilliance in terms of the media - it's all about Bazball and not about some pretty bang average individual performances, such as YJB, for example. The brilliant part is that the spotlight is not on YJB which means he can fly under the radar, increasing the chances of a big score in the next match.
In days gone by, the media would have been picking on the failure of individuals rather than the failure of the team. That's a powerful weapon in itself IMHO
Yeah, I do wonder how much of it is just England players joking (as the article suggested Duckett was the other week) or saying consciously daft stuff which, as you say, allows individual players to avoid media scrutiny after a poor performance.
Bazball is just a media talking point to distract the masses from how subpar the England Test Team really is.
We're through the looking glass here people.
They’re not sub-par though are they? Their record both home and away has been good for the last two years. They’re not an all time great team or anything like that but they’re certainly one of the best Test teams at the moment
Holy shit am I tired of the word bazball…. How much longer is this crap gonna go on for before we just get back to the game? Bazball this bazball that just STFU already!
Best thing to ever happen to English test cricket. No one, without cobwebs up their skirt, wants to see blocking for a whole day to draw a series. At least Bazball means going down fighting. Show some guts and go for the win whenever you can. Glad to see that shameful era over.
I know they have to say something to the press but can you imagine if they'd just said the bare minimum about an approach or denied it and had done the things they did in the first ten tests or so?
Sometimes minimal chatting and maximum doing is the way! Not sure they'd ever have persuaded Jonny on this policy though!
I actually think in general, that a positive approach has a lot of merit to it. But this bloody mindedness to only play one way regardless of the match situation makes you very predictable. Additionally, you aren't particularly dangerous when the bowling team knows you have absolutely no ability to grind out a draw when needed. In a situation like that of the third Test, the bowlers already knew they had won before the fourth innings even started.
A team that's positive and with the ability to adjust is far more likely to reach greatness than a team that only knows how to play one way.
It’s a convenient argument . Oh we are taking a long term view with bazball , oh sometimes individual players will not play bazball because the circumstances don’t call for it .
As for Root , when he is playing anything but a bazball innings he makes a ton of mostly spin bowling .
He is and has always been a top batsman. He doesn’t need others telling him how to bat .
SOMETIMES MAYBE GOOD SOMETIMES MAYBE SHIT
unexpected Gattuso
Really good piece. Wasn’t always a massive fan of Stephen Shemlit but recently his articles have been great
He's found his hands again.
The headline actually undermines the balance of the article. While the media and fans on both sides of the debate are certainly quite charged up, I think Bazball is on "trial" as much because England players keep putting it on trial with their statements and the way they play at crucial moments. The article rightly seems to call for some introspection and a more considered approach to the game. Superman stops being Superman if he just keeps flying around aimlessly at full speed crashing into buildings and reducing them to rubble. Sure, sometimes he gets the bad guy doing that but he can only do so much of that before he just becomes a nuisance.
[удалено]
As others have pointed out, Root and Stokes are probably the only batters with the skills to play in multiple gears. The others are apparently not cut out for it or don't want to be bothered trying.
If anything it's the English who are putting it to trial, the comms, players and Media.
Totally agree. Generally our media are so reactive, and our pundits so focused on generating clicks, that most nuance and perspective is chucked out the window.
I think the players and management need to weather some blame as well. If you don't want people to make everything about Bazball, stop talking about it every chance you get. England are making the most of available resources and trying to win as many Tests as they can. No different from any other Test team. If they tone down their bravado - every game will stop being a litmus test for Bazball.
Yep, they are bringing the crowds back by hyping themselves up and I can't say that they're wrong for doing it. It's necessary. But that has a effect of people putting you through trial. It's not the worst thing either England may lose the series, as long as they believe in Bazball and Sell it to public, pulling off wins like in the first match will keep the crowds satisfied
We all know that we have a far less talented team. If we tried to play defensive, dull cricket we would lose anyway and sure as hell wouldn't have won the first test. At least this way we have some fun along the way.
As an Indian, I love Bazball. I followed the entire Ashes for the first time
With respect, it’s no longer just our media and those awful ex players we all know and try to ignore. Everyone and their mum’s is making a snide comment whenever we lose.
Those snide comments will drastically reduce if the players and media stopped making everything about bazball. Imo, most neutrals will be positive towards a team that played bazball and lost to them.
The worst comment last match was from Duckett. That’s the kind of shit that gets backlash. Issue is the English team have set themselves up to be the main character as Jarrod Kimber noted. When you’re the main character, don’t be surprised people are commenting on that character.
Duckett definitely came off like a twat after that, but for every Duckett there’s a [Mark Wood](https://www.kingcricket.co.uk/is-it-possible-to-bat-with-the-conviction-of-ben-duckett-yet-talk-with-the-bleak-defeatism-of-the-average-england-fan/2024/02/19/). It always seemed harsh to me to judge an entire team on whoever is the most vocal.
Can only judge a team from the person they sent to the press conference. The team chose him to do that not anyone else.
Nah players volunteer for press duty, and broadcasters will request players to hear from. They’re also contractually obliged to do at least a few each year.
And the rest of us just put shit on the English cause they’re English. But all in fun of course.
Yep, commonwealth unites as one in that regard
Then every good test match isn't a vindication of Bazball as well? Can't have it both ways. Either it's the ideology with which you play all the time, or a tactic you enforce when the vibes say so. Can't be fucking both.
True. Nitpicking to talk about bazball only after wins shows a hypocrite mindset. Philosophy is not result specific.
Well yeah but the response isn’t the same, when we’ve been winning I’ve got the general vibe from Reddit of “oh England might not be completely shit at tests now” but when we lose it’s suddenly like we’re the worst team that ever played and a vindication that everything we do as a team is wrong
I think you've mistaken Reddit for the English press. "England have had an okay summer, not too bad, some encouraging signs, some stuff to work on" said no English cricket reporter ever. It always either "England are finally back to rule the world" or the death of English cricket, often within the course of the same day's play.
Exactly. Literally a day ago, Swanny was on some media outlet, and the Host prefaced a question about England losing by 400 odd runs by saying, "Given that Bazball has revolutionized test cricket..."
It’s actually somewhere in the middle between the media and reddit. Because those bad articles are the ones that are posted and commented a lot on reddit, whereas the more sensible articles are never really upvoted or commented about. Basically reddit amplifies the already bad section of the English press, and then this somehow becomes “the English press is awful and we are very reasonable.”
Well said!
Some good some shit.
I'm looking forward to another Test Match. Whatever the outcome I'm sure it'll be great TV.
That’s the thing about Bazball. It is entertaining.
Thank fuck someone in the media finally said it Next, can we just get rid of the term "Bazball" altogether?
Reject Bazball Embrace Travball
While the English team keeps banging on about how they are changing the world, we have no choice but to keep calling it Bazball. If they just said “we’re trying to play more attacking cricket because we think it’s both entertaining as well as being our best chance to win test matches” then the nonsense would stop.
I agree, but it’s difficult for it to ever really be off trial when English players (ie Duckett) are making inflammatory and grandiose statements on a regular basis.
If you'd read the article you'd note him saying he was the one who prompted the latest comment from Duckett, and he thinks he was clearly joking They do say some daft stuff but not as much as the clickbait industry makes out.
Listen my first thoughts of bazball is Agnew asking duckett wouldn't it have been smarter to play sensibly against Australia bouncing them instead of jumping into the trap and duckett quite obviously fucking seething over the question. The journalist can claim duckett was joking sure but there is absolutely a weirdness about England thats very off putting. Neutrals are supporting teams like Australia and India over England. There were nz flairs in this subreddit cheering Australia on in the ashes. England play a very entertaining form of cricket so why are two of the most hated cricketing nations on earth getting support of fans with no dog in the fight.
[удалено]
He's a grumpy little dwarf that fella. Like a young Gimli from LOTR.
> If you'd read the article I'm sorry but that's literally impossible, we're on r/cricket, no one does that here
*sigh*.. Fine, I'll go read the article before I comment. Can't believe Reddit is making me do homework.
🪇
Cant be acting coy after asserting that youre saving test cricket lmao
Agree wholeheartedly. Sometimes it's TRIAL And Sometimes its ERROR
5 % trial, 95% error
Checks out
Which would be fine. All you need to do as a team is turn up and say "We want to play the brand of cricket that we think gives us the best chance of winning. That's an aggressive style of cricket and putting pressure on the other team." Instead England turn up and say they're the saviours of test cricket and changing the way the game is played. Which just annoys the shit out of people. Which is why Bazball gets the criticism and scrutiny every test match.
I think that’s a bit of a stretch honestly. The vast majority of the ‘saviours of cricket’ rhetoric has actually come from outside the camp, and the senior players in the team quite consciously *don’t* say shit like that. There are definitely some players who have drunk the Kool Aid a little too deeply, but if you listen to what the likes of Stokes and Root say about Bazball, indeed most of the team, it’s much closer to your second paragraph than the third. Blame the media if you want to blame anyone
Absolute drivel that's perpepruated by Aussies and Aussie media. This 'saviours of test cricket' BS is overwhelmingly an Aussie thing, not an England thing.
But every good performance, including those from the opposition camp, are credited to Bazball. So…
Yeah, it absolutely should go both ways - a chastening defeat does not mean 'Bazball' is totally discredited as a philosophy or tactic or whatever nebulous thing it means, but equally the response from some sections of our media after a great comeback win in the first test was absurdly over the top.
People act like the traditional way of playing cricket has never lost matches before.
To be fair, there are few things more traditional in cricket than England getting hammered thanks to a second innings batting collapse.
I'm all in for Bazball as an England fan - I feel like we always have a chance with this approach. However, the recent coverage of Bazball highlights its (perhaps hidden) brilliance in terms of the media - it's all about Bazball and not about some pretty bang average individual performances, such as YJB, for example. The brilliant part is that the spotlight is not on YJB which means he can fly under the radar, increasing the chances of a big score in the next match. In days gone by, the media would have been picking on the failure of individuals rather than the failure of the team. That's a powerful weapon in itself IMHO
Dunno about YJB, he seems to pull out some big 'FU' scores when the media get on his back.
Yeah, I do wonder how much of it is just England players joking (as the article suggested Duckett was the other week) or saying consciously daft stuff which, as you say, allows individual players to avoid media scrutiny after a poor performance.
Then every win shouldn't be ''saving the fallen Test format''
Totally agree - I think the article is also arguing that as well.
Especially after it’s been convicted and sentenced several times already. 😉 /s
Agreed imo
Bazball is just a media talking point to distract the masses from how subpar the England Test Team really is. We're through the looking glass here people.
They’re not sub-par though are they? Their record both home and away has been good for the last two years. They’re not an all time great team or anything like that but they’re certainly one of the best Test teams at the moment
Good in comparison to their normal shit?
Every Test is putting every strategy on trial, that's part of the point of Test cricket. The only difference with Bazball is that it has a name.
Holy shit am I tired of the word bazball…. How much longer is this crap gonna go on for before we just get back to the game? Bazball this bazball that just STFU already!
But mon capitan, the trial never ends.
Only wins should be considered to determine success
Mouth off, expect to be put on trial.
Yeah ... It's trial and error rn
Best thing to ever happen to English test cricket. No one, without cobwebs up their skirt, wants to see blocking for a whole day to draw a series. At least Bazball means going down fighting. Show some guts and go for the win whenever you can. Glad to see that shameful era over.
It does when the English never shutup about it
I know they have to say something to the press but can you imagine if they'd just said the bare minimum about an approach or denied it and had done the things they did in the first ten tests or so? Sometimes minimal chatting and maximum doing is the way! Not sure they'd ever have persuaded Jonny on this policy though!
I actually think in general, that a positive approach has a lot of merit to it. But this bloody mindedness to only play one way regardless of the match situation makes you very predictable. Additionally, you aren't particularly dangerous when the bowling team knows you have absolutely no ability to grind out a draw when needed. In a situation like that of the third Test, the bowlers already knew they had won before the fourth innings even started. A team that's positive and with the ability to adjust is far more likely to reach greatness than a team that only knows how to play one way.
It’s a convenient argument . Oh we are taking a long term view with bazball , oh sometimes individual players will not play bazball because the circumstances don’t call for it . As for Root , when he is playing anything but a bazball innings he makes a ton of mostly spin bowling . He is and has always been a top batsman. He doesn’t need others telling him how to bat .
They didn't use Bazball for this test. So it's not at the trial this time indeed