In the Ashes 2023, England’s Bazball strategy under captain Ben Stokes and head coach Brendon McCullum has impressed former Indian captain Sunil Gavaskar.
However, according to the 73-year-old, Bazball is only applicable to batting and has nothing to do with bowling and fielding.
Even their fielding was mocked by the ex-cricketer-turned-commentator, who referred to it as a “field for TV” that wouldn’t lead to any breakthroughs.
The announcement comes days after England dropped the five-match series opener against Australia by two wickets in a thrilling match at Edgbaston in Birmingham.
This came after the Australian team’s captain Pat Cummins (44*) and Nathan Lyon (16*) shared an unbroken fifty-plus partnership for the ninth wicket as they chased down 281 on Day 5 of the first Test.
Or… England shelled 6 catches, a stumping and a no ball wicket. Khawaja scored more than he’ll get in the rest of the series. And Oz pulled a miracle partnership out of their arse.
Plenty for England to take from the game.
— Kevin Framp (@BigKev67) June 23, 2023
Sunil Gavaskar recently penned the following in a column for Mid-Day:
“The Ashes series in England appears to have captured the interest of the cricketing public there.
“Under the leadership of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, England is batting with a freedom that has never been witnessed before.”
“More shots—both conventional and unconventional—are being played than they were before the pair took charge. The end of Bazball is there.”
He continued:
“While bowling, England is acting exactly the same as in the past. Having three men in catching positions on either side of the wicket has made for some interesting field placements.”
”Before and on air, there were two fielders on either side of the pitch. Instead of one to actually get any wickets, I referred to it as a field for television.”
The first Ashes Test, according to Sunil Gavaskar, was a failure due to England’s Bazball strategy
“One of those shoulda, coulda, woulda moment.”
Stokes on dropping Lyon’s catch.pic.twitter.com/J4yJWS79Wx
— Cricketopia (@CricketopiaCom) June 21, 2023
Sunil Gavaskar went on to say that England’s Bazball approach on the field was the primary cause of England’s missed catches in the first Ashes match.
He remarked:
“If anything, the few opportunities England missed could have been easily capitalized upon if these fielders had been positioned five to ten paces further back in their normal fielding positions.”
“The fielders could hardly get their hands on the catches because they were so close to the action and up front that they had little time to react to the hard but sly pulls.”
For the uninitiated, England missed one stumping (by Jonny Bairstow) and dropped six catches in the Edgbaston Test, while Stuart Broad took a wicket off a no-ball.
Beginning on June 28, the second Ashes Test will be played at the Lord’s in London.
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