How cricket’s revolution can rewrite the rules of English sport
“As much as I would love to be an Ashes-winning captain, I want this team to be a legacy team.” That was Ben Stokes in a recent podcast for BBC Sounds‘ The Ashes – talk about creating a social media storm! Mind you, Bazball’s been extremely decisive throughout the summer, that we can all agree on. A lot of it depends on perspective, so we thought we’d give one of our own.
Speaking of which, if you take the fact that Australia haven’t won a series here since 2001, the rain-affected draw at Old Trafford doesn’t seem that bad. Although regaining the Ashes would’ve vindicated Brendan McCullum, Stokes, Bazball and its proponents, a tied series would be far from a disaster.
As it is we’re left debating declarations, tosses, batting and that run-out, when quite clearly a haul of dropped catches well into double figures is the main culprit. Can’t be just us that thinks that, surely? But that’s almost beside the point here. In essence, Bazball is quintessentially un-English, which is hardly a revelation seeing as it was named after a New Zealander, but why so?
This brave new way of playing test cricket is maverick to the extreme. Anyone who’s been to school in England knows that this is not really the done thing, oh no. Textbook, young man, textbook. You must keep your bat grounded at all times. Only when the bowler takes aim are you even allowed to contemplate the backlift. Yet if you adopt Joe Root‘s baseball style you’re halfway to playing the shot before the ball’s been delivered; an advantage, surely.
We all love a bit of Geoffrey Boycott, but he’s in danger of becoming irrelevant. His was a style of batting that was right at home in the 1970s; now, his criticisms of the England team border on prehistoric. Technique goes out the window sometimes when the situation calls for bravery and individualism – not to mention entertainment – and the likes of Boycs need to get used to that fact. When Stokes came out all guns blazing at Lord’s, it was simply thrilling to watch, and for a while it didn’t matter who won, you just wanted it to go on and on and on.
This could have ramifications that have been hitherto rarely discussed, if at all. Without changing the subject too much, it may even inspire Gareth Southgate to be a bit more intrepid and attacking, especially when his Three Lions have the majority of possession or are one-nil up. More importantly, it could rip up the cricket coaching manual and inspire a whole generation of working class kids to play street cricket, with their bats as high in the air as they like. This in turn would break down class barriers and make the game less elitist, something it’s been accused of for so long. It would, dare we say, be the most un-English aspect of it all.
Let’s not forget that Bazball is a toddler in terms of age, so England are still learning to walk in a sense. Pakistan have started to sit up and take notice, and one day the rest of the world may cotton on and even surpass the pioneers. For now, England are in the driving seat and can only get better at this rock n’ roll stuff, so imagine what they might achieve Down Under in the Ashes 2025/26.
And from there, the depth in talent of English cricket could be as gloriously crazy as Bazball itself. As long as they can catch.
The Early Whistle 