The Bazball brand of cricket shown by the English test team lately has taken the cricketing world by storm. Ever since the former Kiwi captain Brendon McCullum took charge as the head coach, the English side has marked dominance in the test format.
For the unversed, Bazball is the term used to address the aggressive approach of a team in the game. McCullum’s approach ensued the term which is based on his nickname. Moreover, the Bazball approach aims at reaping a clear result, most likely a win. This newfound approach applied by the Ben Stokes-led team has proved to be helpful as yet. As illustrated by England’s win over impactful teams like New Zealand and India recently.
South African Coach Expresses His Stance On Bazball
However, South Africa who’s about to face the English test side in a three-test series seems keen on ignoring this specific approach. The team’s head coach Mark Boucher enunciated the team’s plan to stick with their original plan, untethered by McCullum’s plans.
Boucher was asked about his plans to counter the team that’s on a Bazball high after defeating dominating sides like New Zealand and India. “I don’t know, I’ll tell you on the day. We’ve got to be adaptable in test cricket. It’s just about finding a way to try and stop their momentum and maybe change it,” Boucher said
“We believe we’ve been playing a nice brand of cricket and played some tight series recently where we have come out on top. We want to be smart, play aggressive cricket but you’ve got to be smart with that as well,” Boucher noted.
Additionally, he said, “The bottom line is this game is between bat and ball and we’ve got to make smart decisions at certain times of the game, and we are focused on trying to do that. England will probably do the same, they have their brand they want to play. We’ve just got to try and match it on the day and try to find ways to negate it.”
Meanwhile, South Africa test captain Dean Elgar actively addressed and negated Bazball when sought an opinion. “I’ve got absolutely no interest in the style that they’ve played,” Elgar told. “I think it can go one of two ways for them and it can go south very quickly… I’d like to see them do it against our seamers.” The series is just around the corner scheduled to take place right at the home of cricket, the Lord’s.