The 'Bazball' approach has been working wonders for the England cricket team as it has helped them earn victories in seven out of eight Tests. The string of victories now includes a famous win at Rawalpindi against Pakistan. The new uber-aggressive attitude has piqued the interests of many experts expert which is diametrically different from the one England once opted for. The term emerged for the first time when Brendon McCullum was appointed as the head coach of England coupled with Ben Stokes as the new captain of the Test side. The new approach certainly has paid dividends with results coming to fruition in the longest format of the game.
However, former England veteran cricketer David Lloyd said that England are not the first team to play with this all-out approach. He drew a parallel with Australia and West Indies, citing them as prime examples who used to dominate the game. He also highlighted that at present there is no team that is playing like England but opined that India are the only side that can go toe to toe with Stokes' England.
"It is not totally new, of course. The Australian team of the 90s were very positive and the great West Indian sides were full of exhilarating stroke-makers. I reckon a team capable of this style now is India. They have all the tools. There has been a suspicion that Indian batters are stats driven but Virat Kohli is one who could drive this," the 75-year-old told Daily Mail.
Stokes's bodacious decision to declare the innings and give a tempting target to Pakistan of 343 turned out to be a winner. Llyod believes the call to declare the innings caught the hosts off-guard as they were “spooked” by it.
"I think Pakistan were spooked by that declaration from Stokes. The onus was on them to go for it and they did show positive intent for a large part of their chase but towards the end I’m not sure whether they knew whether they knew whether to stick or twist. I don’t think anyone expected Stokes to call England in at tea on the fourth day, certainly not Babar Azam." he concluded.
