England vs Pakistan: Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum rekindle interest in Test cricket
The first Test match between England and Pakistan had plenty of build and anticipation; after all, the match was historic because it would be England’s first Test in Pakistan since 2005
Under the coaching of Brendon McCullum and the captaincy of Ben Stokes, England looked to play in fifth gear throughout the matchBut the Test match was put in some jeopardy due to England’s players picking up a virus that spread through more than half the camp.
There were expectations that England would have to rejig the playing XI they selected significantly, such was the ferocity of the virus.
However, they were able to, by and large, overcome it and went on to do something amazing – score more than 500 runs in the first day’s play!
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">banter that England batting on this pitch yesterday was fun, bazball, world records etc and today we’re talking about pitch reports, demerit points cos we can’t take any wickets 😂 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PAKvENG?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PAKvENG</a></p>— Dan (@danjadz_) <a href="https://twitter.com/danjadz_/status/1598646075203665921?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 2, 2022</a></blockquote> <script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Before we go deeper into why this was so extraordinary, there is one major caveat that has to be acknowledged – the Rawalpindi pitch was an absolute road.
Even Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief acknowledged this, admitting the country is still some years away from building a decent Test pitch.
Yet that takes nothing away from how England batted. They looked intent on hammering the ball to all parts of the ground as often as possible.
And this goes against the entire point of Test cricket – the most extended format of the game is often about resilience, patience, and tempered aggression in short bursts.
However, under the coaching of Brendon McCullum and the captaincy of Ben Stokes, England only looked to play in fifth gear throughout the match.
And this was evidenced by the way their batters went about their business. They weren’t looking for settling in periods or being patient; for all intents, this was white ball cricket in a red ball setting.
But that has been one of the hallmarks of ‘Bazball’, a term that even Brendon McCullum has stated he hates and which unfairly attributes aggressive Test match batting to only this one generation.
This kind of batting has been around for a while – the great West Indian Test teams of yesteryear did it, as did the all-conquering Australian side of the late 1990s and early 2000s.
Yet the impact of what Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum are doing with England cannot be downplayed. They are generating interest in Test cricket at a time when the format is restricted to a niche set of fans only.
Even the more casual fans on social media are becoming curious to tune in to the Test match to see what is happening.
And this is a stated aim of both Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes; the head coach has repeatedly stressed the need to play ‘sexy’ cricket to get viewers to tune in.
What’s impressive is that he’s done so in such a short period. ‘Bazball’ was first seen earlier this year when England dismantled New Zealand at home and beat India in the one-off Test.
But its impact looks to be long-lasting and, perhaps crucially, geared towards fans tuning back into the most extended format. And in that sense, this is something that will be good for the sport.