Tweet
Re: #BazBall - WTF
Seems kind of sustainable.
UNSUSTAINABLE BAZBALL BRAND ALREADY SHOWING SIGNS OF FATIGUE
Is England’s revolutionary style of Test cricket already beginning to show signs of wear and tear?
Heading into Day 4, the first Ashes Test is evenly poised with Brendon McCullum’s side 2/28 in their second innings.
It’s the biggest test BazBall has faced in its short existence, and its first go against Australia.
Veteran cricket journalist Robert Craddock explains it best.
“They’re really into doing the thing the opponents like least,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“(They tried to) shock (Usman) Khawaja and (David) Warner by saying, ‘I know you think you won’t be batting tonight, but guess what, you are’ (when they declared in the first innings).
“Now it didn’t work. But we’ll see a string of all those tactics throughout the series, it’s going to be good.”
The Australians were earlier bowled out for 386, conceding a first innings lead of seven runs but keeping England in the field for over 116 overs.
For a period on Day 3, England was forced out of necessity to attempt a short ball barrage on an Edgbaston pitch that offered little.
It’s one of the most un-English pitches seen in recent memory, but lives up to Ben Stokes’ comments earlier this year saying his side wants flat decks prepared across the five-Test series.
“There will be a price (of BazBall). They have ordered these flat decks and already, (James) Anderson and (Stuart) Broad are feeling their age,” Craddock continued.
“They’ve been good in this game and Broad’s been terrific, but he’s still 36 and Anderson is still 40 and 41 in a couple of months.”
Those veterans bowled over 20 overs each in the first innings, taking four wickets between them.
Yet Craddock believes it’s a model that’s unsustainable. For a team that is already missing star quick Jofra Archer through injury, it’s likely England will rotate a number of fast bowlers through the six-week series.
“You cannot sustain this sort of heavy duty bowling on flat decks which they've ordered. Great for the batsmen… who can get the scoreboard ticking over, but I can now see why Ben Stokes – about five months ago – said to his fitness staff ‘I want eight fit fast bowlers’. He saw this coming because they will grind through them,” he added.
Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts are the other quicks included in the England squad, though none possess the famed records of Anderson and Broad.
Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc are next quicks in line for Australia, which have also indicated they'll rotate through their own fast bowling stocks.
Is England’s revolutionary style of Test cricket already beginning to show signs of wear and tear?
Heading into Day 4, the first Ashes Test is evenly poised with Brendon McCullum’s side 2/28 in their second innings.
It’s the biggest test BazBall has faced in its short existence, and its first go against Australia.
Veteran cricket journalist Robert Craddock explains it best.
“They’re really into doing the thing the opponents like least,” he told SEN’s Whateley.
“(They tried to) shock (Usman) Khawaja and (David) Warner by saying, ‘I know you think you won’t be batting tonight, but guess what, you are’ (when they declared in the first innings).
“Now it didn’t work. But we’ll see a string of all those tactics throughout the series, it’s going to be good.”
The Australians were earlier bowled out for 386, conceding a first innings lead of seven runs but keeping England in the field for over 116 overs.
For a period on Day 3, England was forced out of necessity to attempt a short ball barrage on an Edgbaston pitch that offered little.
It’s one of the most un-English pitches seen in recent memory, but lives up to Ben Stokes’ comments earlier this year saying his side wants flat decks prepared across the five-Test series.
“There will be a price (of BazBall). They have ordered these flat decks and already, (James) Anderson and (Stuart) Broad are feeling their age,” Craddock continued.
“They’ve been good in this game and Broad’s been terrific, but he’s still 36 and Anderson is still 40 and 41 in a couple of months.”
Those veterans bowled over 20 overs each in the first innings, taking four wickets between them.
Yet Craddock believes it’s a model that’s unsustainable. For a team that is already missing star quick Jofra Archer through injury, it’s likely England will rotate a number of fast bowlers through the six-week series.
“You cannot sustain this sort of heavy duty bowling on flat decks which they've ordered. Great for the batsmen… who can get the scoreboard ticking over, but I can now see why Ben Stokes – about five months ago – said to his fitness staff ‘I want eight fit fast bowlers’. He saw this coming because they will grind through them,” he added.
Mark Wood, Chris Woakes, Josh Tongue and Matthew Potts are the other quicks included in the England squad, though none possess the famed records of Anderson and Broad.
Michael Neser and Mitchell Starc are next quicks in line for Australia, which have also indicated they'll rotate through their own fast bowling stocks.
Comment