Sportsmail experts on England's rock 'n' roll Test cricket revolution

England’s rock ‘n’ roll revolution will change the Test game for good, but how will rivals tackle them and can they win the Ashes? Sportsmail’s experts including NASSER HUSSAIN and DAVID LLOYD have their say

• England have rewritten the Test rulebook over the last month with superb wins
• Management duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum has revolutionised them
• It remains to be seen how rivals can deal with them, or if they can win the Ashes
• Here, Sportsmail’s expert panel has their say on the dazzling Bazball revolution 

England have rewritten the Test rulebook over the last month with four sensational victories over New Zealand and India under their dynamic new management duo of Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

Sportsmail‘s experts – former England captain NASSER HUSSAIN, former England coach DAVID LLOYD, Cricket Correspondent PAUL NEWMAN and Wisden Editor LAWRENCE BOOTH – assess the Bazball revolution.

Read their thoughts below… 

England have rewritten the Test rulebook in their new era after earning four sensational wins

What are we watching, England or rock stars?

Nasser Hussain: It’s not a group of rock stars, it’s a wonderful England team with the shackles of Covid bubbles, self-doubt and analysis all thrown off. It’s a reminder of what playing cricket for England is all about – fun and enjoyment. If that’s being rock stars, long may it continue with many brilliant gigs and albums to come.

David Lloyd: Well, it’s certainly rock ‘n’ roll! It’s an entertainment business and the public are loving what England are doing. It reminds me of Australia in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Their idea was to go at four runs an over – England are going at more than five. It’s staggering.

Paul Newman: I have never seen anything like it. And I bought into it from the word go. So much for the need for systemic change. So much for first-class cricket being undermined by white-ball cricket. It turns out England had some very good players. They have just been set free. And if rock ‘n’ roll saves Test cricket, I’m all for it. Elvis has not left the building yet!

Lawrence Booth: We have been watching a group of players transformed by a simple instruction: go out and have fun. It’s one thing for Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and Ben Stokes to play their shots, but when Alex Lees is charging the eighth ball of a chase of 378, you know you have a revolution on your hands.

Nasser Hussain describes the team as performing with self-doubt and analysis ‘all thrown off’

County stars must play Stokes’ way to make the team… so will domestic game change, too?

Lloyd: It was shrewd of Ben to say that and it sent a massive signal. If lads in county cricket with aspirations to play for England have any sense they will see this is the way to do it. I’ve always been frustrated with any player who just blocks the living daylights out of it.

Hussain: I still think there will be room for someone whose currency is runs. Would a young Alastair Cook get into this side? Yes, I think so. All the basics and fundamentals still required in Test cricket will fit into this side. You just cannot be a complete and utter blocker.

Booth: I think it will. You won’t get noticed now unless you are doing extraordinary things, which is how it’s been for some time with the white-ball sides. That may be tough on steady openers such as Kent’s Ben Compton, but Stokes has laid out the template and it’s up to others to adapt.

Newman: Yes, I think it’s going to change the world game, let alone the domestic one. I do think England will temper it, they will adapt to conditions. There will still be a place for batters who defend with purpose when the situation demands. They are just making a huge statement and it is reverberating around the world.

Captain Ben Stokes is keen for county stars to replicate his style to make their country’s side

How will other sides tackle England now, starting with South Africa next month?

Booth: This will be fascinating, because teams hate admitting their tactics are influenced by the opposition. But New Zealand and India got into trouble in the third innings knowing England would try to chase any total. And if you waste a good pitch by bowling first, you risk playing into England’s hands.

Newman: The third innings will more and more decide the outcome of Tests. I can certainly see captains hesitating in batting first against England now. We can say conditions will dictate but England seem to have taken conditions out of the equation by getting into the heads of bowlers.

Hussain: Teams will still read conditions and play to them. Remember, none of the pitches England have played on this summer have deteriorated. And if England see one they think will deteriorate, maybe in Pakistan this winter, they will bat. It’s not as simple as just bowling each time. Stokes is no fool.

Lloyd: We have to remember neither New Zealand nor India had a decent spinner. So there was nothing to fear in the fourth innings. England would have thought twice about bowling had Shane Warne or Murali been playing. Have South Africa got a potent a spinner? I don’t think England will lose sleep over Simon Harmer.

Captains could hesitate over batting first against England in light of their front-foot nature

Stokes does not want to make changes to his team but are there issues to resolve?

Newman: The big test of this regime will come when they really do have to drop a player. There’s backing and there’s going too far. That hasn’t happened yet but I still like the idea of Jos Buttler opening the batting for the three Tests in Pakistan this winter. He played it down but he didn’t rule it out. Moeen Ali will come in this winter, too, but probably only in Pakistan.

Booth: Lees has played important innings in two of the last three Tests, and even Zak Crawley helped get the chase off to a flier. Ollie Pope made 145 and 82 against New Zealand, so he has to stay. Stuart Broad could do with a strong performance against South Africa, and there’s always Mark Wood in the wings.

Hussain: The way they are playing, there is no negativity and there’s no need to change anything. Stokes and McCullum must take this group forward, while Rob Key and whoever he picks to select the squad with him will need to look ahead and provide players for different conditions. But no one is guaranteed a place.

Lloyd: I’m happy with the top three. Ollie Pope had been hidden down the order but looks a good player. I know Lees was told to play more expansively and he’s doing it. Jack Leach took 10 wickets two Tests ago, but there’s no doubt opponents will go after him. Leg-spinner Matt Parkinson, who made his Test debut last month against New Zealand, would enhance this team.

Jos Buttler has not ruled out the possibility of his return to the Test fold for the Pakistan clashes

Can Bazball help win the Ashes back next year?

Lloyd: It’s inevitable to fast-forward to the Ashes the way England are playing and Australia will have noted what is happening. They have the ability to play the same way and they do have a world-class spinner in Nathan Lyon. Both teams will come out punching. Get your tickets! Game on!

Booth: If they are still playing like this in 2023 – and there’s no reason to think they won’t be – then of course it can. No one will fancy facing England in their present mood. You do wonder if Stokes and Co can take apart the likes of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood. But I have a feeling they will give it a go.

Hussain: No talk of the Ashes until the Ashes! We constantly do that and build it up and some are doing it already.

Every Test, as this team are showing, is important and has the same value. It might be different for fans, but if England put the same emphasis on every Test, the future will look after itself.

Newman: I disagree with Nasser for once. The Ashes are bigger than ever and Chris Silverwood was right to try to plan towards last winter’s series. It’s just England got into a terrible pickle doing so. Yes, England can win next year and they will!

Brendon McCullum, the architect of ‘Bazball’ will believe his team are capable of Ashes glory

Share this article

Source: Read Full Article