“We just concentrate on what we do”- Ben Stokes retaliates to Dean Elgar’s “Bazball” remarks

Just ahead of the start of the England Vs South Africa test series at Lord’s, the respective team captains have made it to the headlines. But this time, it’s not for their game but their analysis of the game. Lately, Ben Stokes and team have gained a name for their changed and aggressive gameplay in test cricket. The new approach, apparently, motivated by their head coach Brendon McCullum infamously known as Bazball has troubled the opposition teams in the last recent months. However, the Proteas, before engaging in the game itself denounced the approach in various media interactions.

The South African test captain, Dean Elgar even went on to remark that the England team could land with “egg on their faces” in the clash. “I’ve got absolutely no interest in the style that they’ve played. I think it can go one of two ways for them and it can go south very quickly. [Talking about it] is a waste of energy. Their own coach doesn’t even like the slogan they’ve come up with. I’d like to see them do it against our seamers,” said Elgar about Bazball. Moreover, he noted that he senses no “longevity in brave cricket” in their approach.

Ben Stokes Retort To Elgar’s Remarks

💬 The opposition seem to be doing a lot of talking about it at the moment…happy for Dean and the South African team to keep saying they're not interested but then also keep talking about it! 💬

Ben Stokes has responded to chat around 'BazBall' 👀#ENGvSA pic.twitter.com/nsNwVr15gj

— England’s Barmy Army (@TheBarmyArmy) August 16, 2022

However, the England team who’ve worked wonders with their new approach haven’t exclusively referenced the specific approach. The team riding high on their recent test successes, apparently, doesn’t even use the term “Bazball” internally. But that doesn’t mean they won’t defend their approach when it gets denounced. Sam Billings, who’s replaced by Ben Foakes for this outing was quick to point out the “stupidity” in Elgar’s comment about their game plan.

“We’ve beaten an international team over four days by an innings in a manner of scoring 5.74 an over. You’d be pretty stupid to ignore that if I’m honest,” said Billings.

“If that’s not a wake-up call. because we’re not even the best XI. So, it’s up to them, really, but I think that’s laid out a pretty strong statement in the way we want the cricket to be played, but also being able to execute it and having the players to do that was really impressive,” Billings added.

And now, the England test captain, Ben Stokes himself addressed the much-discussed topic. Stokes didn’t limit himself when talking about Elgar’s comment. “The opposition seems to be doing a lot of talking at the moment about it,” Stokes said. “We don’t really speak about it that much. We just concentrate on what we do. We’ve got a style of play, they’ve got a style of play.”

“At the end of the day, it’s bat against ball; whoever plays best over a Test match is more than likely to win. But we won’t dive into it too much, but we’re happy for Dean and the South African team to keep saying they’re not interested, but then also keep talking about it,” Ben Stokes added.

Dean Elgar also retorted to this comment following his initial remarks. “With all due respect, I am really not going to entertain that anymore,” he said. “We’ve chatted about it long and hard. I just want to crack on with the cricket. I think the game deserves that respect. Mudslinging is a thing of the past for me and we are not going to go back and forth on that,” he added.

The Proteas have made it clear that they’d be banking on their seamers to clinch a win against England at their home ground. However, seems like everyone has to wait for the actual game to witness the real clash and their challenge to Bazball. And Elgar’s closing remarks hint at the same.