Over the last few years, Bazball has arguably been the singular phenomenon that has transformed Test and ODI cricket for England fans and players alike. And now, the biggest challenge that the defending Men’s ODI World Cup champions face in the 2023 edition is whether they can play by this new philosophy, made popular and incubated by them to defend their title. For fans and detractors alike, this is a mouth-watering contest in the making.
Coined after former New Zealand cricketer and current England coach Brendon McCullum, who is fondly known as “Baz”, Bazball encourages the English players – both the batters as well as the bowlers, to play an aggressive and fearless brand of cricket.
England’s form in ODIs has been patchy going into the 2023 World Cup. In the last one year, they lost to Australia and South Africa, won a close series against Bangladesh and thumped NZ at home. Their ODI form, however, is likely to be forgotten given that their attacking approach in Test cricket batting and scoring 400 or even 500 runs in a day.
Bazball, the supposed brainchild of coach Brendon McCullum and Test captain Ben Stokes- has ensured that form and consistency in one format of the game is not a criterion for selection in another. Sample this: test legends Joe Root and Ben Stokes did not feature in a single ODI from July 2022 till the home series against New Zealand, but are part of the World Cup squad.
One would be hard-pressed to find arguments opposing this move, given the way England’s batsmen have played in Test cricket since Stokes took over.
Stokes, the Man of the Match in 2019 World Cup final, pulled out of ODI retirement after this year’s Ashes heroics to join the ODI squad and immediately muscled a 182 against New Zealand in September, which is England’s highest individual score in ODIs.
Wicket-keeper batsman Jonny Bairstow, returning from injury, too made it to the World Cup squad after missing out for a year due to injury.
With the in-form Dawid Malan, ODI captain Jos Butler and big-hitting Liam Livingstone, the England batting line-up is one of the strongest of the tournament, at least on paper. The team has five all-rounders in their squad of 15- IPL superstars like Moeen Ali and Sam Curran and the highly effective Chris Woakes-, all of whom should feature in the starting XI in all games.
This lends enviable depth to their batting and bowling, which already has the fiery Mark Wood and the consistent wicket-taker Reece Topley. Even the spin department led by Adil Rashid and Moeen Ali can be more than a handful on Indian pitches.
This versatility across formats, selection fluidity and balance in the squad is undoubtedly their biggest strength. Unlike previous England sides, this one has vital experience of playing on Indian pitches in the IPL.
Despite this, England’s Achilles heel could be their batsmanship against quality spin. This was on display in the bilateral series against Bangladesh in the Asian country, where spinners took 17 of the 24 English wickets to fall in the three ODIs.
Every single expert expects them to make it to the semi-final at least. What needs answering is, if they will be at the Narendra Modi stadium in Ahmedabad on November 19 and win that game.
Players to watch out for:
Tough to pick out a few in a galaxy of superstars, but here are our picks:
Dawid Malan: The left-handed opening batsman has been a beacon of consistency at the top with four hundreds and a 90 in the last one year.
Adil Rashid: The lynchpin of England’s bowling in white-ball cricket, Rashid’s wicket tally in the world cup will be crucial to their chances.
Jos Butler: Butler is one of the most popular foreign cricketers in India thanks to the hundreds of runs he’s belted in the IPL. His familiarity with the Indian conditions and pitches and fearless batting in the middle order can take the game away from the opposition in a jiffy.
Ben Stokes: The talismanic all-rounder. The man who engineered the controversial win in the 2019 World Cup final. He was there when England won the T20 World Cup last year. His ability to be a big match player is what sets him apart.
Fixtures of England cricket team:
Vs New Zealand on October 5 at Ahmedabad
Vs Bangladesh on October 10 at Dharamsala
Vs Afghanistan on October 15 at Delhi
Vs South Africa on October 21 at Mumbai
Vs Sri Lanka on October 26 at Bengaluru
Vs India on October 29 at Lucknow
Vs Australia on November 4 at Ahmedabad
Vs Netherlands on November 8 at Pune
Vs Pakistan on November 11 at Kolkata