In the demise of Bazball, a triumph of Test cricket
Bazball, it seems, has died young. In theory, the all-out aggression approach endorsed by England head coach Brendon McCullum was seductive. The cricket it designed thrilled the senses — it promised to revive the longest format from the throes of decline. But it died because it was utopian. Bazball’s manifesto rebelled against the sacred virtues of Test cricket, the world of grind, grit and patience. Even though it lived heroically, producing moments of brilliance, it died tamely on the sun-burnt decks of Down Under.
The non-viability was first laid bare when England toured India in early 2024. Against high-class spinners on turners, the ultra-aggressive approach looked ultra-foolish. The signs were clear that unless Bazball embraced deep layers or learned newer tunes, its end was imminent. England fell into a strategic straitjacket. Like neutering the strength of surfaces that aided swing and seam. McCullum, his general Ben Stokes and the selectors ignored classical batsmen on the county circuit and picked those who could bat briskly without strong technical foundations.
The failure was a triumph of Test cricket’s variegated character, a message that it cannot be cracked by a single, radical idea or conquered by one visionary, that it continues to engage the best of cricket’s minds, that some of its old ideals are still relevant. The five-day game has adapted to the modern ethos, but white-ball cricket’s postmodern values cannot fully devour it. It was Test cricket gently putting in place the revolutionaries’ hubris.