Since the appointment of Brendon McCullum as the head coach of England's Test unit, the Three Lions have displayed unprecedented aggression in the longest format of the game. Under McCullum's guidance, attack-minded English batters have put opposition teams and their bowlers under tremendous pressure by scoring runs at a brisk pace. So far, the new approach has worked phenomenally for Ben Stokes and his brigade as England continues to accumulate victories.
Veteran Indian spinner Ravichandran Ashwin reflected on 'Bazball' (the term used to define England's brand of cricket under coach McCullum) and opined that playing aggressively in challenging conditions will work against the Three Lions, who are currently ruling the roost in red-ball cricket.
"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," Ashwin said.
"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," he added.
India faced the brunt of England's new approach in 2022 when the Three Lions chased down the target 378 runs in the fourth innings of the 5th Test in just 78.3 overs.
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