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Sport Nation
How to tune into Sport NationWhen BazBall stars align, will we keep being sucked in?
Lachlan Geleit • November 28th, 2025 10:12 am
The rollercoaster of England's BazBall approach took us all on a journey during the first Ashes Test in Perth.
The visitors were up and down like a yo-yo in just two days of cricket, both with the bat in both innings and even with the ball, from one day in the field to the next, as Australia ran out eight-wicket winners inside two days.
It’s nothing that should surprise us, though, as this is exactly the result of the breakneck style of cricket instilled in the team by director of English cricket Rob Key, coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes over the last few years.
And who can really blame them? Yes, it’s fair and reasonable that Aussie fans look at what the Poms are doing and throw it aside as something that was never going to work, but it’s not like doing what they have been doing for the last 12 years here has been any better.
As much as England going from a 9/10 to a 2/10 in the space of a few hours in a Test match wasn’t surprising, particularly against an Aussie team that’s more than happy to operate around 7/10 or 8/10, so has been the reaction to it all.
If England won, it would have been pitchforks out for this ageing Australian side, with this new brand of cricket finally the right formula for the tourists to win back the Ashes down under.
Now, after they lost, which was widely due to shooting themselves in the foot and Travis Head bailing out the home side with two hours of brilliance, it’s 'This style was never going to work in these conditions'. And, 'it’s time for Stokes and McCullum to change everything they’ve been working towards over three years' … over two particularly bad sessions.
You don't have to be a believer of BazBall, and it's unlikely England’s approach will be good enough to beat Australia over a five-Test series… but there will be a time this summer when it does come off, and in a big way, and it’s there where Australians shouldn’t change their stance on it.
When those stars do align, as one or two of their batters score big runs at an incredible clip and their fiery pace attack backs them up with the ball, will we keep the same energy with our tossing aside of their tactics? I hope so, but I'm not confident that'll be the case.
Because looking at history and even two short days in Perth, their moment will come. Their talent with the likes of Duckett, Root, Brook, Smith, Archer and Wood is too strong for it not to click for a brief period, as conditions and luck combine with that to produce something scintillating and seemingly unstoppable.
So, will the general thoughts on BazBall be turned on and off again multiple times in the next six weeks?
For most, of course they will, because that’s what we do when we’re all emotionally invested with our reactions to a series that means so much to so many.
The point to Australian fans, is to be like the current side, never too high or low. Leave that for the English…
They’ll be far better than the Aussies on days, but equally far worse on others, and on those days when it’s relatively even, that’s when Andrew McDonald's side will be that 10-15 per cent better than their opposition, which will ultimately be the difference in the series and most games.
Be wary of the overreaction, because this series will be full of twists and turns that you’d have to be blind not to see coming.
