England’s Ashes Hopes Hang by a Thread as ‘Bazball’ Backfires

AFP/APP

London: England arrived in Australia with genuine hopes of a first Ashes series win Down Under since 2010/11 and were seeking their first series triumph — home or away — against their oldest rivals in a decade.

But after just six days of cricket, they are already 2-0 down with three matches to play. Their much-vaunted “Bazball” style of ultra-attacking cricket has come under intense scrutiny following crushing eight-wicket defeats in Perth and Brisbane.

AFP Sport looks at what has gone wrong for England so far:

Approach

Coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes injected fresh energy into an England side that had won just one of 17 Tests when they joined forces in 2022, urging players to play fearless cricket.

However, Bazball has at times shifted from a guiding philosophy to near dogma, leading to a damaging lack of flexibility. Early success has given way to more modest results, with England winning 13 and losing 14 of their 29 World Test Championship (WTC) matches since June 2023.

Stokes last month labelled former players critical of England’s approach as “has-beens”, drawing sharp criticism.

“They are up their own backsides convinced that Test cricket has changed so much that only they know anything about the modern game,” wrote former England great Geoffrey Boycott in the Daily Telegraph.

Strategy

England managing director Rob Key has long stressed the importance of sheer pace on hard Australian pitches.

“I don’t care how many wickets you take,” he said last year. “I want to know how hard you are running in, how hard you are hitting the pitch, and whether you can sustain 85 to 88 miles per hour.”

Australia’s Mitchell Starc has thrived under those conditions, taking 18 wickets so far. However, the first two pitches have also rewarded traditional English seam bowling, as shown by Australia’s Michael Neser — averaging just above 80 mph — who took 5-42 in Brisbane’s second innings.

Preparation

McCullum faced ridicule after the pink-ball defeat in Brisbane when he suggested England had trained too much and were over-prepared.

The tourists played only one warm-up match before the series, and wicketkeeper Jamie Smith — along with others — had never played a pink-ball Test prior to Brisbane. England’s lack of match practice showed as they dropped five catches in the first innings.

England also opted against playing a tour match between Brisbane and next week’s third Test in Adelaide.

“Nowhere in a million years has preparation been right,” said former England captain Michael Vaughan.

Discipline

England have struggled with basic disciplines, with batsmen taking unnecessary risks and bowlers failing to maintain consistent line and length.

Repeated warnings about the dangers of clearing Australia’s large boundaries and the risks of attacking Starc were ignored. After the second Test defeat, Stokes urged his players to toughen up, stating his England team was “not a place for weak men”.

But the warning may have come too late. Australia won in Brisbane despite missing three senior bowlers — Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Nathan Lyon — who together have more than 1,100 Test wickets.

Selection

England’s selection policy has raised serious questions, with certain players appearing immune to being dropped.

Opener Zak Crawley has been retained despite averaging just 33.7 in WTC matches since June 2023, reflecting a heavy Ashes-centric mindset. Ollie Pope averages only 31.8 in the same period, yet Jacob Bethell — next in line — has yet to score a first-class century.

“This lot aren’t even afraid of getting dropped, which is why we see the same old failings, particularly in the batting,” an exasperated Boycott said.