Ex-England skipper backs ‘Bazball’ tactic amid ongoing criticism, adds a caveat

The fans were eagerly waiting in anticipation for the series as they wanted to see how well England’s ‘Bazball’ approach fares in India against the mighty Indian bowling. After England won the first test despite giving a 190-run lead, it looked like the ‘Bazball’ would do the unthinkable but since then it went all south for England.

Despite playing against an inexperienced Indian batting line-up, the England team succumbed to Indian bowling and are now behind in the five-match series by 2-1 after losing two consecutive test matches. Though they showed a fight in the 2nd test in the 3rd test they were completely annihilated by India as they lost by 434 runs which is India’s biggest win in terms of runs.

After their recent thumping, England’s ‘Bazball’ approach has been severely criticised by fans and experts from back home and here in India. While some are calling out the English team for living in their own bubble others are calling this as the end of the ‘Bazball’. Amid all the criticisms, England’s former captain Nasser Hussain has come out in support of the ‘Bazball’ approach but also advised them to be flexible in their approach.

Nasser Hussain assessed Joe Root’s strange dismissal

Nasser Hussain believes that ‘Bazball’ approach is entertaining to watch and has given England immense success in the past but said that it lacks an element of flexibility. He said, it is important to play the situation in test cricket and you cannot play the same way every time under the garb of ‘it is the way we play’ and need to assess the situation and then react to it.

Nasser Hussain gave an example from the match and said that the shot that Joe Root played to Jasprit Bumrah was one of the turning points of the match and if he had assessed the situation of the match well and had not played the shot, then the situation of the match could have been much different.

He said that India did not have the services of their premier spinner Ravi Ashwin at that time and Jasprit Bumrah who has been Root’s nemesis in recent times was at the other end. Hussain emphasized that if Root had not played that shot and played out Bumrah’s spell, then England could have toiled the Indian bowlers and the situation of the match could have been different. Hussain said that England should continue with their aggression, it’s just that they should tweak it according to the situation and play accordingly.