Bazball cricket, England’s new Test cricket strategy, was overshadowed in the opening game of the Ashes Series and was a failure. Against Australia, England was caught in their own trap. The Edgbaston Test was unsuccessful with this new attacking style of play. Usman Khawaja batted for Australia in a way that not only looks good but also helps Australia win matches while England batted with style and bravery. Despite losing eight wickets in the fourth innings, the kangaroo batsmen maintained their composure and prevailed.
The rain in the afternoon of the third day gave the biggest blow to the England team. This was the most crucial time of the match, when Australia’s openers were struggling to stay at the crease. England had made a fast, flat pitch taking advantage of the home condition, on such a pitch England could win the match only because of 3 reasons – 1. Big turn, 2. Fast bowling 3. Batting mistake. In the last session of the last day, when the contest became exciting, Moeen Ali could not bowl after the tea break due to a finger injury, which gave the advantage to the Australian batsmen.
England captain Ben Stokes and his coach Brendon McCullum took strange decisions in this match, which are now being made fun of on social media. 1- Wired field settings, 2-The idea of getting Joe Root to bowl 13 consecutive overs on the last day, 3-The decision not to get the new ball until it was too late.
England had declared their first innings at 393/8 on the very first day of the Test match. Questions are also being raised on this approach of the English team. This is being called the overconfidence of his captain Ben Stokes. People are making fun of “Bazball Cricket”. Stokes explained after the match, ‘I saw it as a swoop on Australia because no batsman likes to go out for 20 minutes at the end of the day and I felt it was an opportunity to take two wickets.
The second match of The Ashes 2023 five-match series between England and Australia will be played at The Lots in London from 28 July. Now it will be very interesting to see whether the England team management brings some changes in their game or they will play the second Test match with the same strategy.
ENG vs AUS Playing 11
ENGLAND Playing 11: Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Ben Stokes (c), Jonny Bairstow (wk), Moeen Ali, Stuart Broad, Ollie Robinson, James Anderson
AUSTRALIA Playing 11: Usman Khawaja, David Warner, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, Alex Carey (wk), Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland
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