England fans troll Bazball (Source: @mufaddal_vohra)
Ben Stokes took over England's Test captaincy from Joe Root in 2022 and has changed how England approach the longest format of the game. The leadership group under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum has emphasisedon aggressive batting under all circumstances and has also delivered that on numerous occasions.
England Force To Change Bazball Strategy
However, the situation in the second Test of the five-match series has forced them to change their approach. India dominated the whole Test match and set the target of 608 for England with less than four sessions to go. To make matters worse, England lost three wickets early and on Day 5 are battling for a draw.
Normally, it is what a team does in Test cricket in such a situation. However, the kind of reputation England have created, fans expect them to go out all guns blazing in all situations. Now, when they are not doing it, the Edgbaston crowd has reportedly come up with 'boring, boring' chants.
Ben Stokes in dressing room (@mufaddal_vohra/X.com)
The chants are an attack against England's defensive style of batting and it is also an indirect question to Bazball's promise of positive cricket. Reportedly, the same chants were going around Edgbaston during India's second innings, and it signifies how the approach of watching Test cricket is changing in England.
However, Ben Stokes and co. did take the aggressive option in the first innings of the same Test. Jamie Smith smashed an unbeaten 184 off just 207 balls while Brook also scored his 158 runs at a strike-rate of almost 70 in their 303-run stand.
However, in the second innings, they were forced to keep practicality ahead of their Bazball strategy because of India's all-round brilliance.
