Bazball, according to the British, annoys Australians.
England opener Zak Crawley recently declared the phenomenon “winds up” his Ashes rivals, while player-turned-pundit Nasser Hussain quipped Ben Stokes’ team sends Australians “doolally”.
The national team’s emboldened approach to Test cricket, embraced under the stewardship of coach Brendon McCullum, has undeniably breathed life into English cricket.
The players are reinvigorated, liberated by a fresh outlook on the game, while there’s been a dramatic turnaround in the team’s fortunes; from one victory out of 17 Tests pre-Bazball, a success rate of 6 per cent, England has won 25 of their 41 matches since McCullum’s appointment.
But some Australians aren’t convinced, or terribly impressed for that matter. Bazball, in their eyes, is simply transferring a white-ball mentality into the Test arena, while less-informed fans perceive it as nothing more than reckless slogging. Adam Gilchrist claimed the powerhouse Australian side of the early 2000s was doing Bazball 20 years ago.
“The Australian cricket team has always played a positive brand of cricket and always looking to win,” spinner Nathan Lyon said.
“We just haven’t felt the need to talk about it.”
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With the exception of the 2023 Manchester Test, when England blasted 592 runs from 108 overs, Pat Cummins’ Australians haven’t felt the full force of Bazball. England failed to retain the coveted Ashes urn on home soil two years ago, while Harry Brook’s throwaway comment that his teammates could claim a “moral victory” from the tied series fuelled plenty of derision and ridicule.
While their opponents disagree on whether Bazball has altered the sport’s landscape, or reinvented the wheel, the team’s newfound mantra has, for better or worse, become embedded into English cricket, transforming the perennial underperformers into a must-watch spectacle. Following 145 years of conservatism and tradition, England’s Test side had undergone a revolution.
However, despite recent successes and record-breaking feats, McCullum’s team still hasn’t won a Test series against their two biggest rivals – India or Australia. Until the Ashes urn or the Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy is in their possession, sceptics will remain.
It’s why the 2025/26 Ashes could prove the making, or undoing, of Bazball. And while history would suggest toppling the Australians in their own backyard is no easy task, England is brimming with confidence ahead of the blockbuster series, confident their touring party is the best in a generation.
Bazball was in its infancy when the two nations previously butted heads in 2023. Now, after an additional two years of tinkering with their line-ups and processes, England believe they have developed a blueprint for how to win the Ashes in Australia.
Cummins and his teammates are about to come face-to-face with Bazball 2.0.
‘FEAR OF FAILURE IS NON-EXISTENT’
Four years ago, England’s Test side was a laughing stock.
Coached by Chris Silverwood and led by Joe Root, England was bowled out for less than 200 on 13 occasions during the 2021 calendar year, suffering nine defeats to equal the all-time record. Meanwhile, extras were the team’s third-leading run-scorer behind Root and opener Rory Burns.
The 2021 Lord’s Test against New Zealand illustrated England’s conservative, defeatist mindset at the time – courtesy of a sporting declaration from the Black Caps, England was set a 273-run target for victory at the home of cricket, allocated 70 overs to force a result.
But much to the disappointment of spectators, England dropped anchor and crawled towards 3-170 at stumps on day five, settling for the draw. Opener Dom Sibley struck three boundaries across five hours at the crease, soaking up 207 deliveries.
New Zealand ultimately won the two-match series 1-0.
“They had nothing. They had no attack in their game,” former Australia batter Mark Waugh said of England’s Test side under Silverwood.
“They were very defensive.”
There were wholesale changes to England’s hierarchy after they narrowly avoided a dreaded Ashes whitewash in 2021/22 – Root gave up the captaincy, while Silverwood was sacked and replaced by McCullum, who had never previously mentored a red-ball team.
McCullum and newly-appointed skipper Ben Stokes, already the team’s spiritual leader following his individual heroics in 2019, set about creating a relaxed environment for players that had become disillusioned by the game.
The duo eased pressure on the players, treating them like professionals rather than schoolboys; net sessions were optional, deadlines were scrapped, while golf became an essential part of the touring schedule. Meanwhile, experienced players were encouraged to manage their own training regime rather than be ‘coached’.
“Bazball, for those that don’t know it, it’s pretty much allowing the player absolute freedom. That’s all it is,” former Australian bowler Brett Lee said.
“It’s saying, ‘You go out there and express yourself as an athlete and as a batsman to take on the bowler.’ If you feel like hitting the bowler for six first ball, if that’s your best option, go out and do it.”
McCullum wanted the players to learn to love the game again; they should be excited to represent their country, not dread the consequences of defeat.
Failure in cricket is inevitable, particularly for batters; but rather than focusing on protecting their wicket, batters were told to run towards the danger and play with freedom, trusting their natural instincts.
Under McCullum, there would be no fear of failure. And the players trusted his vision.
“They’ve got the backing of the leaders, the captain and the coach,” former Test batter Michael Hussey said.
“They’re encouraged to play in that manner – if it doesn’t come off a couple of times, they’re never punished for it, so there’s no fear of going back into their shell. They’re expected to play in a positive frame of mind.”
Australian vice-captain Travis Head agreed: “It’s not a one-man show. It’s a team environment. It’s a team sport. They’re playing a brand of cricket that they’re all buying into.
“They’ve jumped on board behind a captain and a coach who inspires their players and that style. Fair play.”
Stokes is drenched in tattoos, including a pride of lions on his back and a Maori-inspired sleeve to acknowledge his New Zealand heritage – but one of the tattoos, inked in 2015, encapsulates England’s new mantra.
It reads: “Being the best that you can be is only possible if you desire to be a champion and your fear of failure is non-existent.”
KINGS OF THE FOURTH INNINGS
Under McCullum’s guidance, England has a belief they can win from any position, no matter how unlikely that may seem. Blocking for a stalemate was no longer an option, while the team would never aim for a draw under any circumstances.
On the final day of the 2022 Trent Bridge Test against New Zealand, the second match of McCullum’s reign, England was 4-139 at tea chasing a 299-run target for victory. At the interval, Stokes told his teammates: “We’re either winning this game or we’re losing it.”
In front of a sell-out crowd, the hosts thumped 160 runs during the final session to seal a five-wicket victory, with Jonny Bairstow cracking a 92-ball 136. The Black Caps, who scored 553 in the first innings, had become the first victims of Bazball.
A by-product of England’s no-draws philosophy has been some staggering fourth-innings performances. After whitewashing New Zealand in 2022 – chasing targets of 277, 299 and 296 – they rewrote the history books by reeling in a 378-run target against India at Edgbaston, doing so with seven wickets in hand. Ahead of the match, Stokes declared after winning the toss: “We’ll have a chase.”
Three years into his tenure, Stokes has won the toss and chosen to bowl first on 13 occasions, more than any other England captain in Test history.
Meanwhile, local curators have aided the cause by producing flat pitches that deteriorate slowly, ensuring conditions remain batter-friendly through to the fifth day.
Under Stokes’ captaincy, England has successfully chased a 250+ target on six occasions, while Ricky Ponting’s powerhouse Australians managed the feat just three times.
They were officially the kings of the fourth innings. England has averaged 37.07 in the fourth innings since the birth of Bazball, comfortably the highest among Test-playing nations during that period.
Fourth-innings batting average among Test nations since June 2022
37.07 – England
30.63 – Sri Lanka
30.19 – Australia
27.55 – South Africa
26.21 – Bangladesh
24.90 – New Zealand
24.70 – Pakistan
20.95 – India
16.17 – West Indies
England has only drawn two of their 41 Tests since June 2022; the Manchester washout in 2023 and this year’s high-scoring affair against India at the same venue.
Even in conditions when draws were seemingly an inevitability, McCullum’s side has found a way to force a result. On a painfully flat deck in Rawalpindi in late 2022, Stokes’ brave declaration gave Pakistan four sessions to chase a 343-run target, a tantalising carrot to dangle.
If England had declared any later, Pakistan would have presumably settled for a stalemate. But lured by the enticing target, the hosts were bowled out for 268 in 96.3 overs, with spinner Jack Leach sealing victory moments before the sunset.
HIGH RISK, HIGH REWARD
Perhaps the most defining characteristic of Bazball has been the team’s uninhibited, aggressive approach to batting, with England’s scoring rate skyrocketing over the last three years.
Rather than batting for time, taking the shine off the ball and leaving outswingers outside off stump, England has looked to counterpunch. Good deliveries were attacked rather than defended.
Aided by flatter wickets and a benign Dukes ball, England’s strike rate between June 2022 and December 2024 was 72.66, comfortably higher than any other nation during that period.
England’s veteran batters, once the epitome of orthodoxy, embraced the new attacking mentality – Root’s Test strike rate grew from 54.65 to 66.89, Stokes from 57.40 to 65.09, Pope from 50.61 to 72.23, Crawley from 53.81 to 73.48.
“With that top seven of England, their best cricket is probably a positive brand,” Australian bowler Josh Hazlewood said.
“They all play that way. And it’s like, ‘Well, we might as well continue on with it, that’s going to be our best chance of getting a good score.’
“If you try to change the way the batsmen play, it’s not their natural game, then it’s going to be a lot tougher for them.”
But there was method to the madness – England’s high-risk, high-reward approach paid dividends when they came up against a quality Australian pace attack during the 2023 Ashes.
Across the five-match campaign, England averaged 39.35 and scored at 3.69 an over against deliveries on a ‘good’ length, defined by 6-8m from the stumps. In contrast, the Australians averaged 14.97 with a scoring rate of just 1.82 per over against such deliveries.
Bazball forces the opposition to change their lengths and spread the field; pressure is put back on the bowlers, who cycle through Plan B, then C, then D, desperate to stem the flow of runs.
During the series opener against Pakistan in 2022, England clobbered 506 runs from just 75 overs on day one in Rawalpindi, breaking several Test records along the way. Importantly, the rapid scoring tempo also gave England’s bowlers enough time in the field to take 20 wickets on a flat, lifeless surface.
Highest strike rate among Test nations from June 2022 to December 2024
72.66 – England
57.51 – India
56.88 – Sri Lanka
54.86 – New Zealand
54.54 – Australia
53.67 – Bangladesh
53.16 – Pakistan
50.83 – South Africa
47.62 – West Indies
However, Hazlewood pointed out that England weren’t the first cricketers to play Test cricket in such a manner.
“Travis Head has, to a degree,” he said.
“He comes in and tries to change the momentum of the game and bring it back to our side through aggressive play. Rishabh Pant as well.”
While there have been plenty of ugly dismissals and regrettable slogs over the last three years, England’s multi-format batters have played to their strengths, ignoring the precedent set by past generations.
Why, for example, should Ben Duckett try to play like Alistair Cook, who boasts a safer, more reliable defence? Duckett has one of the best cut shots in the game, so if width is on offer, he’s going for it.
It’s why the left-hander only left 31 of his first 1915 deliveries during the Bazball era.
TAKE 20 WICKETS AT ANY COST
England’s batters weren’t the only ones undergoing a tactical revolution.
The fast bowlers, who had been coached since childhood to bowl in the channel and build pressure, were instead instructed to take 20 wickets as quickly as possible, irrespective of the runs. They were told not to worry about economy rates or boundaries – just focus on snaring poles.
England’s seamers were encouraged to bowl fuller and target the stumps with more aggressive fields, increasing the likelihood of bowled and LBW dismissals – even if they conceded a couple of boundaries, Stokes refused to push the field back.
For the spinners, Stokes refused to place three boundary-riders on the leg side, trusting his tweakers to create breakthroughs without protection on the rope.
Stokes would also get creative with his field placement, memorably setting a reverse umbrella field for Usman Khawaja during the 2023 Edgbaston Test. Eyeing the vacancy at cover, the Australian opener charged at seamer Ollie Robinson first ball and lost his off stump, a wicket coming from nowhere.
The ploy has worked; England took all ten wickets during each of the first 26 innings under McCullum’s guidance, and although their bowlers have conceded more runs, wickets are tumbling at a faster rate.
Ashes villain Stuart Broad was one of the main beneficiaries – before McCullum’s appointment, he boasted an economy rate of 2.93 in Tests with a strike rate of 56.9, while after June 2022 he conceded 3.43 runs per over with a wicket every 46.6 deliveries.
However, the durability of England’s bowlers has been pushed to its absolute limit during the Bazball era courtesy of flat decks, short batting stints and a condensed calendar. With less time to recover between innings, the team’s quicks have become more susceptible to injury, forcing workload management and bowler rotation.
The nation’s best bowlers have failed to keep fit for marquee contests, most notably the recent Test campaign against India, when England was plagued by injury setbacks throughout.
BRAVE SELECTIONS FOR BAZBALL DNA
England’s selection policy has shifted since McCullum’s appointment, with a cricketer’s style of play deemed more important than experience or statistics. Rather than analysing runs and wickets, the selection panel have trusted their gut instinct about a player’s credentials.
This horses-for-courses mentality at the selection table has resulted in some fairly outlandish call-ups.
With just three first-class matches under his belt, spinner Rehan Ahmed made his Test debut against Pakistan at the age of 18, taking a five-wicket haul in Karachi. All-rounder Will Jacks was picked for the same tour, having snared 17 wickets at 47 during that year’s County Championship, claiming a six-wicket haul on his debut.
Fellow tweaker Shoaib Bashir earned a maiden national call-up after Stokes saw some clips of him bowling for Somerset. He’s been England’s leading wicket-taker across the last two years.
Spinner Tom Hartley was also called up for the India Test tour courtesy of his high release point of 2.35 metres, which was deemed an important attribute for tweakers in the subcontinent. On debut, he claimed 7-65 in Hyderabad, helping England seal a memorable come-from-behind victory.
Following an injury to strike spinner Jack ahead of the 2023 Ashes, England turned to retired spinner Moeen Ali, who hadn’t played any red-ball cricket since September 2021.
Last year, England handed tall left-armer Josh Hull a Test debut despite an underwhelming County Championship record of 11 wickets at 84.85, while all-rounder Jacob Bethell batted at No. 3 during the Test tour of New Zealand despite having never scored a first-class hundred.
England has selected players who fit into the Bazball DNA, especially the batters. Stokes admitted that former captain Alastair Cook, who until recently was the nation’s leading run-scorer in Test history, wouldn’t get picked in his team.
“They have the personnel that can play that way, that can put teams under pressure. They’ve done it time and time again,” Australian batter Marnus Labuschagne said.
“They may not have won the series they would have liked to, doing the method, but they’ve certainly won lots of games, and the way they’re playing is entertaining.”
ENGLAND’S OBLIGATION TO ENTERTAIN THE MASSES
When speaking to the media, McCullum and Stokes have often spoken about the importance of entertainment, a desire for England’s Test side to capture the public’s attention.
Across the world, far too many Test matches are played in front of empty stadiums. With cricket traditionalists fearful of Test cricket’s future amid the looming threat of a T20 takeover, it’s hoped that Stokes and his teammates can inspire England’s budding cricketers to want to play the game’s oldest format.
“We’ve got an obligation to entertain,” McCullum declared in 2022.
“It’s been a challenging period for those who love the game of Test cricket because society has changed and people don’t necessarily have five days to sit down and watch cricket anymore, so we need to make sure that the product that we’ve got and the product that we’re taking to the people is worthy of their time and is able to captivate some of those imaginations.”
The insinuation that England is saving Test cricket has prompted plenty of eyerolls, but the record television audiences and ticket sales are difficult to ignore. They’re putting bums on seats, while nobody who has witnessed Bazball in the flesh could claim they didn’t get their money’s worth.
“I like this style of cricket,” Lee said.
“It’s got a lot of people talking. People are coming to watch Zak Crawley, or Ollie Pope, or Harry Brook go and smoke the first ball for four or six in their innings. It’s exciting cricket.”
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green agreed: “How they’re playing the game is awesome to watch, that’s for sure.
“It catches you off guard at times. It puts pressure back on you. It makes the game move forward.
“It’s been really cool to watch.”
England fans have subsequently become accustomed to high-octane cricket in the Test arena, unafraid to express their disappointment when denied Bazball-style entertainment. During the fifth Test of the 2023 Ashes at The Oval, a spectator was filmed calling the Australians “boring” as they walked off the field, which drew the ire of Khawaja and Labuschagne.
‘VERY POLARISING’: BAZBALL’S EARLY FLAWS
Not all of the gambles have paid off. England was far from perfect during its first three years under McCullum’s stewardship, on multiple occasions shooting themselves in the foot with tactical blunders and reckless batting.
Just as Bazball has helped England win from unlikely scenarios, Stokes’ men have been vulnerable to losing from commanding positions.
In early 2023, Stokes became just the fourth captain to lose a Test match after enforcing the follow-on, suffering a memorable one-run defeat against New Zealand in Wellington.
A few months later, centurion Root was still at the crease when England declared on day one of the Ashes opener at Edgbaston, with Australia ultimately sealing a tense two-wicket win. The following week, England collapsed from 1-188 to 325 all out after falling for an obvious bumper ploy at Lord’s, needlessly swatting at bouncers and gifting the Australians a first-innings lead.
In August this year, England was seemingly cruising to victory at 3-301 chasing a 364-run target against India at The Oval, with Harry Brook and Root peeling off hundreds. Brook, moments after passing triple figures, charged at Mohammed Siraj and lost his grip, with the bat sailing towards square leg. The Yorkshireman had to sheepishly retrieve the willow before marching off the field, with his horror dismissal prompting a collapse of 7-66.
The team’s tendency to collapse in a heap with questionable shot selection has become a source of frustration for fans, who have accused England of prioritising entertainment over victory, of pursuing style over substance, of relying on vibes rather than skill.
Since September last year, England has been bowled out in less than 40 overs on four occasions, prompting pundits to ask why there were no ramifications for poor batting. In February, The Guardian called Bazball a “death cult”.
“It’s created entertainment because it’s very polarising,” Khawaja said.
“Some people love it. Some people hate it. I mean, it’s an entertainment sport, so any sort of controversy is always good.
“But it doesn’t really matter how you play. You can play Bazball. You can play any style of cricket you want. But you still have to win Test matches.”
Ultimately, England has lacked execution. Missteps against Australia in 2023 and against India in 2025 left a bitter taste in their mouth, while they finished fifth in the most recent cycle of the World Test Championship.
Stokes’ men are yet to evolve from entertainers to winners. Bazball, despite all its accomplishments, has been hit and miss.
“I think that’s always going to come with being aggressive,” Green said.
“It can catch you off guard and can really blow you out of the water. But also, on a flat wicket, where you probably couldn’t get a wicket, it really brings you back in the game.”
‘CAN’T JUST PLAY ONE WAY’: THE BIRTH OF BAZBALL 2.0
England has seemingly reined in their attacking formula this year, a slight adjustment that hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Australians. The batters have taken more calculated risks, while they’re better at identifying when to apply pressure and when to soak it up.
This year, there have been fewer sixes, fewer funky declarations and fewer ugly slogs; a sense of mundanity within the Bazball madness.
Chasing a 371-run target during the recent Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy opener against India, England got the job done without any rash shots or carelessness. Duckett’s stylish 170-ball 149 was composed of traditional cricket strokes, a measured dismantling of India’s bowlers that featured only one six.
It was Bazball with brains.
A few weeks later, England ticked along at 3.02 runs per over on day one of the Lord’s Test, an old-fashioned grind that seemingly contradicted the team’s philosophy.
“Bazball has honestly changed a little bit,” Lyon declared.
“They’re now thinking about ways to win games, not being totally reckless.”
Australian vice-captain Steve Smith continued: “They have started to play a little bit differently in terms of playing the situation, as opposed to going out and trying to be the entertainers that they said they wanted to be.
“They are actually trying to win the games now, which is perhaps different to what was said in their comments previously.”
England’s run rate in Tests
2023 – 4.87
2024 – 4.38
2025 – 4.35
Before 2021, England’s batters were too hesitant. Before 2025, they were too brave. Much like Goldilocks, they’ve found a method that’s just right.
“When they first started, it was all-out aggression, and now they’ve found the balance,” Labuschagne said.
“They’re just playing what’s in front of them, rather than probably getting caught in just playing one method.”
Former England captain Michael Vaughan agreed: “This is the summer where they are starting to mature and starting to realise that to win the big series, you can’t just play one way.”
ENGLAND’S ‘REAL CHALLENGE’ IN ASHES QUEST
Whenever England has encountered a new challenge under the Bazball regime, rivals have questioned how their aggressive batting will cope in foreign conditions.
Inevitably, the most prevalent talking point ahead of the Ashes – apart from Pat Cummins’ back – has surrounded how the touring batters will fare on Australia’s bouncy decks.
“In Australia, there is not one place where you can drive on the up and play shots willy-nilly,” former Australian opener David Warner said.
Speaking earlier this year, McCullum vowed that England would “stay true” to their recent methods and “double down” on the Bazball philosophy in Australia. He argued it would give them their “greatest chance” at victory.
However, England’s success will depend largely on how adaptable they can be. Steve Smith, arguably the greatest Test batter since Sir Donald Bradman, is renowned for adjusting to conditions mid-innings, tinkering with his stance or grip to suit the conditions.
For any chance of winning back the urn, England’s batters will need to be just as flexible.
“They won’t be able to be aggressive like they are in England,” former Australian all-rounder Brendon Julian said.
“If they try to be aggressive, and try to play too many shots, then that’s good for us, we’ll knock them over.
“So they’re going to have to change their game-plan a little bit.”
Vaughan agreed: “The bowlers need to adjust their lengths and the batters are going to have to get used to that extra bounce.
“That’s going to be a real challenge for this England side.”
Two years ago, the 2023 Ashes ended as an anti-climactic, unsatisfying stalemate. England felt they had outplayed Australia, yet Cummins and his teammates returned home with the urn.
That series was a battle between two conflicting methods of Test cricket – Australia’s traditional approach against England’s Bazball – but the 2-2 outcome gave neither side bragging rights. Stokes’ men arrive in Australia hoping to verify the legitimacy of a style of cricket they have spent three years refining.
Bazball wins Test matches – but can it win the Ashes?
“Stokes and McCullum, they’ve brought about a huge change in the way England play their cricket,” Waugh said.
“At times I think they need to rein it in and be a bit more street smart, but their general attacking mode I think could possibly upset the Australians this summer.”
