Ravichandran Ashwin has delivered his verdict on England’s ‘Bazball’ concept and said that it could falter on certain types of wickets.
The England side under the leadership of Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum has been a revelation in Test cricket as they have been able to surprise opponents and put pressure on them. They have only lost one match under the new regime and has recorded wins in Pakistan.
“We now have a concept called Bazball. England is playing high-paced Test match cricket. They want to play a certain style of cricket. But in certain types of wicket, when you try and attack every ball, you will falter. There are both advantages and disadvantages to this approach.”
“Some will ask instead of defending and getting all out for 100, I will slog it out and get all out for 140. We will only know when the game pans out that the approach works or not. Sometimes, on the wicket, conditions need to be respected. If you respect the pitch and play accordingly, the pitch will also respect you. If you respect the pitch, it will pay you dividends,” said Ashwin.
“The big test for Bazball is against the Australians. The chance that we could do it or not comes up in the next few months. It is going to be interesting. Australia have a very strong bowling attack and have its own exciting batters and have its own positive approach to the game. England will start feeling positive about the chances, that’s the whole culture. They are frightened of losing again because they back themselves to keep winning elsewhere. Should be a fascinating series,” said Gower.
