Exalted former England stalwart Geoff Boycott has let loose a fiery critique of ‘Bazball’, England’s modus operandi during the inaugural Ashes Test at Edgbaston, proclaiming that if their sole intention is amusement, they could quite rightly don the mantle of a professional circus.
The English side, quite openly, has been endeavouring to bring about a revolution in Test cricket with their audacious, all-or-nothing strategy. Both coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes have, on numerous occasions, made it known that they are not driven by the chase of victories, but by their aspiration to play a brand of cricket that will draw the crowds back to the sport.
This approach has indeed seen them triumph in 11 of their previous 14 Test matches, with their recent loss against Australia at Edgbaston merely marking their third setback under this philosophy.
Yet, The Ashes represent the apex of English Test cricket. Following a nail-biting defeat in the first Test match of the 2023 series, held at Edgbaston, some of the team’s tactical decisions didn’t sit well with certain quarters of the English cricketing community. A number of ex-cricketers and analysts felt that England were overreaching.
On the Vaughany and Tuffers Cricket Club podcast, Boycott expressed that while he was intrigued by the cricket presented in the first Ashes Test, England eventually lost sight of their primary goal – victory – leading to their defeat.
“I enjoyed the cricket. It kept you on the edge of your seat. England were winning every session, but they didn’t win the match, and that should tell them something for the next Test.”
“They lost sight of the fact that the object is to win, and then if you want to entertain, then yes, by all means. But why can’t you win and entertain? When you get ahead of yourself – and that’s what England did – they stopped thinking.”
Boycott went on to say that the fans would rather see England victorious than witness them lose while playing entertaining cricket: “If you’re going to just entertain, they might as well be a circus, that’s it. Go, be a professional circus around the world. If you ask people in England ‘do you want to win the Ashes, or do you want to entertain and lose?’, I know what the answer will be.”
England fell short in the first Ashes Test by a margin of two wickets, with Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon forming an unbeaten 54-run partnership for the ninth wicket, propelling Australia to victory in an edgy run chase at Edgbaston.
Despite the setback in the first Test, Stokes has pledged that England will persist with their aggressive stance and continue to pressurise Australia. The second face-off is set to commence at Lord’s on June 28.
