The upcoming Ashes series between England and Australia is set to be super exciting, with England’s ‘Bazball’ being the centre of talking point. Notably, the term ‘Bazball’ refers to the playing style adopted by the English team, which emerged after the appointments of Brendon McCullum as head coach and Ben Stokes as captain.
Undoubtedly, England is expected to persist with their ‘Bazball’ approach in the upcoming Ashes 2023 series. However, the Australians have raised some concerns about whether this style of play can withstand the formidable Aussie attack. To provide some context, England has maintained an impressive scoring rate of 4.85 runs per over in the past year, with five of their batters boasting a strike rate of over 75.
On the contrary, Australia have built their game around creating pressure and roasting opponents, evident from their remarkable economy rate, which is the best among any team in recent years. Their ability to strangle opposition teams has become a defining characteristic of their gameplay in the oldest format.
Meanwhile, former Australian skipper Steve Waugh has raised questions regarding the Bazball approach, highlighting the key issue by asking if the English side has any Plan B.
Waugh suggested that the effectiveness of Bazball could be in doubt if there isn’t a backup strategy or alternative plan in place. The ex-Aussie skipper reckoned that the ultimate challenge of England would come when they face a world-class bowling attack from Australia.
“That is the big question mark over so-called Bazball. What is Plan B? Have they got a Plan B? Australia’s former Test captain asked. If they haven’t then they are going to be found out. They have shown they are good enough to carry this style of cricket off but the ultimate test will be against a world-class bowling attack, which Australia has got,” said Waugh, as quoted by ESPNcricinfo.
“It is exciting but to me the jury is out at the moment. Does [Bazball] hold up under scrutiny against a really good bowling attack in maybe challenging conditions?,” Waugh added.
