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England’s exhilarating fast ride in the Baz-ball lane

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Last updated on 27 Jun 2022 | 04:39 PM
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England’s exhilarating fast ride in the Baz-ball lane

Baz Lane is in my ears and in my eyes, there beneath the blue Leeds' suburban skies

202 runs required, Neil Wagner steams in, Joe Root on strike and t̶h̶a̶t̶'̶s̶ ̶a̶n̶o̶t̶h̶e̶r̶ ̶d̶o̶t̶. Oh wait, that’s just outrageous from Root. He just goes down on his knee and reverse-scoops a wide delivery over the third-man region for a six. That’s Baz-ball in one image. 

Baz-ball was never a tried and tested method in World Cricket. In fact, the last time Baz-ball was in play, the era was still 2010s and teams were not overtly surrounded with the pressure of a point-based World Test Championship cycle. Test cricket was still important but perhaps, not accompanied with the sort of pressure that comes with. 

The challenge this time around was a mountainous one. Not just because Test cricket had evolved over the years but because it was England. England’s media perhaps scrutinizes their team more than any other country. Be it football, cricket or rugby, the utmost pressure that the managers, coaches, the captains have to undergo is surreal. 

But that’s where it took a perfect turn for England. The turn that coincided both McCullum’s reign as the head coach alongside Ben Stokes taking over the leadership. It seems like a double-edged sword, doesn’t it? It feels like a sword that constantly is point back at you. However, what it does fine is cut through the opposition. 

New Zealand realized it first-hand and were on the receiving end of the Baz-ball sword. England’s approach has been simple to understand: Attack is the best form of defence. 

Jonny Bairstow embraces Baz-ball brilliantly

The evident example of attack was in the third Test, where England were reeling at 21/4, with only three specialist batters left in the innings. There was captain, Ben Stokes, one of their best white-ball batters, Jonny Bairstow and their specialist wicketkeeper, Ben Foakes. 

So, when put against such a tough proposition, a team usually digs their way out slowly. England dynamited their way, or at least they tried. It is the approach that is refreshing and not the actual result. 

“Huge amount of credit to Brendon (McCullum) and the backroom staff. Trent Bridge was fantastic. Being 55/6 and to do what we did the manner we did (here), that was something special,” admitted Stokes at the post-match presentation. 

And, the best beneficiary of this aggression is Jonny Bairstow, one of England’s best white-ball batters. Question marks over Bairstow’s head has been there for a while but now, it has turned all into awe. 

Since the start of 2022, Bairstow is the leading run-scorer in Test cricket, with a strike-rate of 76, an average of 64.5 and 774 runs. He’s ahead of Joe Root, Usman Khawaja and Daryl Mitchell. But what’s fascinating is that in two of his hundreds this series, he has walked out at 56/3 and 21/3 (which later became 55/6) but despite that, his strike-rate in the series reads: 120.1. Shahid Afridi is the only other batter to have a higher strike-rate than Bairstow in Tests for a 300+ run series. 

While there might be several batters – Root, Stokes and Ollie Pope – who all benefit from McCullum’s coaching style, Bairstow might just be the perfect weapon for England’s stead-fast growth in the red-ball format.

England should be careful with Matthew Potts

England, over the last three years have been home to several exciting pacers in the red-ball format. There was Jofra Archer, Mark Wood, Saqib Mahmood, Ollie Robinson and now, Matthew Potts and Jamie Overton. It is a complete set right here for England but what has hurt them in the past, continues to hurt them in the present is injuries.

With a host of stars – Archer, Wood, Mahmood and Robinson – injured, the Three Lions had to change their sight to Potts. Only this summer, Potts has bowled 353.4 overs at the First-Class scene, that’s 2122 deliveries, which is 10% more than any bowler and 30% more than any other seamer. Despite that, he’s bowled 124.5 overs in this series, where he has picked up 14 wickets.

He’s been easily one of the most impressive bowlers in the series but that comes with a difficult proposition for England. Potts has bowled over 478 overs over the course of the summer. In comparison, England’s lead-spinner, Jack Leach has bowled 365 overs since the start of the year. Potts has been deadly accurate and effective but once overplayed, as it has happened multiple times in the past, he might start to wane away. 

Jack Leach plays a vital role in Baz-ball

Baz-ball isn’t all about aggressive batting, it equally about meticulous planning and bang-on execution. Jack Leach walks in exactly at that proposition, after having been made a scapegoat several times in the past. He isn’t going anywhere from the playing XI, in fact, he is only going to become more vital under this setup.

Leach is England’s highest wicket-taker in the calendar year (2022), with 28 wickets, and has bowled the most overs (365) but largely it has come in the Caribbean. In the Caribbean, the left-arm spinner bowled 189 overs, picking up just 11 wickets. While he bowled 80 maidens, he wasn’t used in the most attacking sort of manner.

Under Stokes, the left-arm spinner has thus far been utilized more aggressively. Against the left-handed batters, Leach averages 13.5 in the series, conceding just 81 runs. While the love-hate relationship with spinners has been a major talking point in the past, the management showing their faith in Leach might very well start a new chapter in English cricket. 

And, the Player of the Match award might just be the start of many more for the left-arm spinner.

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