In 2022, Kiwi Brendon McCullum ushered the England Test team into a new era — the Bazball era, where the team just doesn’t look for draws, goes for the kill, especially in batting, where they run-rates through the innings go beyond 4.5 or even 5 per over. Just imagine, Harry Brook hammering Indian bowlers all over the park at the Oval, in a bid to chase down 374.. and he nearly did it too. He went on to score 111 in just 98 deliveries, and gave the Indian fans a massive panic attack.
IND vs ENG series ends in a 2-2 draw
But then, only nearly. In what turned out to be the perfect script for India, and not so perfect for the hosts, they fell short by just six runs. In hindsight, if only one batter had batted more sensibly, then the score line could well have been 1-3. But that was not to be. Why? Because Bazball isn’t the most effective against India.. and also Australia.
As per a stat by Cricbuzz, since 2022, when the Bazball era started, England has never won a series against India or Australia — and out of the 16 Tests played, they have won just 6. Series wins stand at naught. Though it has been mighty effective against the rest of the world, the series wins have been 8/10, where they have won 19 from 25 played, and lost only 6.
Let’s break this down further. In 2023 Ashes vs AUS, England only managed to draw 2-2 at home. As for India, it all started with the last match of the 2021 series, which was played the next year. England won that one at home, but weren’t the best against the Indians. The next summer, they came down to the sub-continent, to play a five-match series against Rohit Sharma’s men, and were hammered 4-1.
Bazball ineffective against IND and AUS
And now. Despite India not having Rohit, Virat Kohli, and R Ashwin, Ben Stokes‘ side could only manage a 2-2 draw. That despite having dominated the run-chase at Oval for majority of the time. This 2-2 could well have been a 3-1 in India’s favour too, had Siraj and Jadeja gone on to win the Lord’s Test too.
There is just something about Bazball, that doesn’t work with India and Australia too. As for other teams, England have beaten the hell out of West Indies in 2024 (3-0), Sri Lanka (2-1), Pakistan (2-1), and New Zealand (2-1), in this span.
