Introduction
The series is not done yet but it's happened: England have lost a Test series under coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes for the first time. When I saw England losing the 4th test and ergo, the series, I had a need to write about it. For the readers that don't know, "Bazball" is the nickname given to their style of play. "Baz" is short for Brendon. Under this style, their batting is the key to success (at least to me). They tend to bat in their second (and fourth overall) innings. This enables them to chase down totals. Their batting is more aggressive. It is more T20 mode batting instead of normal and slow batting that is traditional with Test matches.
India and results summary
It is an away series loss to India. To some extent, the loss isn't all too surprising. India perform excellently when they have had home comforts. They almost never lose when it comes to Test matches/series'. They would dominate the world if they played all their matches at home. You will have to go back 12 years, to 2012, for the last time they lost a Test series at home. Interestingly, it came at the hands of their current opposition.
I'm quite surprised by the margin of victories. Indian conditions are spin friendly i.e. made for spinners. To me, T20 cricket is a time to exploit spin bowlers. As such, Bazball was ideal with these conditions. England won the first Test by 28 runs. I don't mean any offence or disrespect but margins of loss in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th Test by 106 runs; 434 runs and 5 wickets, repectively, is just woeful. I would've expected the margins to be a bit lower and tighter.
A controversial matter
A real controversy that was created was by England batter Ben Duckett. It is in regard to Yashasvi Jaiswal's inning in the Rajkot Test (3rd). Jaiswal scored 104 on day three before retiring hurt due to back spasms. He returned the following day and went on to score 214* [not out]. Duckett claimed that Bazball 'assisteed' him in scoring the runs. In essence, he claimed that Bazball revolutionised aggressive batting in Tests. Former England skipper Nasser Hussain responded by saying that Jaiswal gained the ability through upbringing, hard work and performances in the domestic circuit and the Indian Premier League (IPL). Michael Clarke, a former Australian captain, has questioned Duckett on if he has heard of former players Matthew Hayden; Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist. Clarke believes these three aforementioned players were the pioneers of attacking cricket in Tests.
Match insights
What's very interesting about this series win is that India have been missing key players. These included: Virat Kohli; Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Shami, for varying reasons. If anything, this shows a high depth volume that India possess. The only question that remains is how the newbie players perform abroad.
From an England standpoint, I am surprised that the pundits and reporters aren't moaning or crying about the series loss. Even Ben Stokes hasn't complained about it. There hasn't been calls to sack Brendon McCullum or strip Stokes of the captaincy. They are being very humble about it.
Conclusion
Bazball can't be sustainable. It looks like teams are possibly trying to identify weaknesses to it. A clear and obvious one is that, as mentioned earlier, England like to chase. England have lost matches when they have had to set a total. As per Ben Duckett, some of the players who have experienced Bazball might develop tunnel vision as a result.
The 5th and final Test is scheduled to take place between 7 - 11 March 2024. The series might be decided but there are 12 World Test Championship (WTC) points up for grabs and a portion of win % for the log standings.