Indian pitches and its nature due to the sub continental variations in climatic surroundings has always been a supporter of tracks that offer resistance more to the spinners than the fast bowlers. This is the only reason why touring SENA teams considers adding more spin options to their squads than the fast bowlers.
The England cricket team which is scheduled to tour on the Indian shores for a 5 match test series starting January 25 at Hyderabad under the leadership of Ben Stokes and coaching management lead by New Zealander Brendon McCullum has been all vocal about the Bazball approach they will apply in the spin friendly conditions to topple the Indians.
Bazball approach and England’s plan to execute it in India
The Bazball approach which means playing T20 style of cricket in a game of resilience and skill of red ball to bat opponents out of the game was successful and came to limelight when in the subcontinental conditions England whitewashed Pakistan in a 3 match test series held in Pakistan. Buoyed with this success formula recently, England under Ben Stokes would try to replicate the same formula to topple the Indian side comprising likes of Virat Kohli Rohit Sharma and more importantly Ravichandran Ashwin and company in Indian conditions.
The ‘Bazball ideology’ under Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum has tasted a lot of success at home and even away to Pakistan. However, many have maintained that India will be their toughest exam and it certainly is the case as they are unlikely to get flat batting tracks.
The quality of Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and others on tracks that will turn could be the ‘final frontier’ in terms of Bazball’s goal and former South African opener Graeme Smith has warned England regarding excessive conditions in India would hamper their plan as they are only set to go with one approach and under preparedness for Indian conditions would be a huge loss to the touring cricket team who has suffered and early exit in the recently held ODI World Cup in India.
I know Brendon McCullum well and he’s a deep thinker- Graeme Smith on the duo of Ben Stokes & Brendon McCullum
Former South Africa captain Graeme Smith feels England coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes will be well aware that they will get turning tracks in the five Tests against India starting later this month.
There has been a lot of doubt over Bazball’s effectiveness in Indian conditions, given it may not be straightforward for batting as it could be in England. However, Smith feels the visitors will have their plans in place to counter the threat.
Speaking to Betway, here’s what Graeme Smith had to say about England’s preparation:
“I think it’s a given that you can expect dry surfaces in India. For England under Ben and Baz, they don’t just play silly cricket. They’re obviously looking to play a real positive brand of cricket but there’s a lot of thought and brains. I know Baz well, he’s a deep thinker about the game and a creative thinker, so he’ll be strategizing and thinking.”
As skipper Ben Stokes shared on X, England have planned a proper training camp in Abu Dhabi before the Test series.
England try to put teams under pressure- Graeme Smith
Graeme Smith also tried to shed light on how England put the opposition under pressure with their ultra-aggressive ideology. However, he feels India have the quality and the experience in their ranks two withstand the pressure the visitors will put on them.
On this, he stated:
“What England try to do is to put teams under pressure and make mistakes. The thing that India have is experience and an incredible confidence playing in their own backyard. They’re very successful at it, so it’s going to be interesting to see if this approach works for England.”
Having tasted recent success with the Bazball approach in neighboring nation Pakistan having whitewashed them in a three match test series 3-0, England under the management led by New Zealander swashbuckler Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes aims to continue the same on hostile spin friendly pitches in India .
But as warned by Graeme Smith, the touring side are also aware about the impeding threat in the form of Ravichandran Ashwin and company who with all their might will continue to maintain India’s test dominance at home since 2012 when they last lost a test series at home versus the then England side and since has been unbeatable in test series in India. It provides a cracker of a series for cricket viewers over the globe about how England goes about their Bazball approach in India being the most talked point all through the series.