In a generation where T20 and T10 franchise leagues are ruling the cricket world, there has been a lot of talk about whether the Test format can survive. The introduction of the World Test Championship was the ICC’s way of reviving interest in Test cricket. It has worked, but with T20 leagues taking place in almost every country across the year, will viewers still be interested in Test cricket? This has been a constant concern in the last few years, and England’s coach-captain duo of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes seem to have come up with a solution – Bazball.
Viewers have often complained that Test matches are slow, and it’s difficult to keep watching batters defending all through the day with long periods of slow run-scoring. The Bazball approach has made every ball in Test cricket an event. Be it Joe Root switch-hitting Scott Boland or trying to reverse-sweep Nathan Lyon, it keeps the bowlers and fielders interested because chances will keep coming their way. That, in turn, makes it more entertaining for the viewers.
The other problem with Test matches has often been that many games end in draws, which becomes tedious for those watching. For example, if a particular team has to chase down 400 in four sessions, they would try to play for a draw first. Only if there are wickets in hand would they go for the win in the final session.
Bazball is different. England declared on the first day of the Edgbaston Test, and they had already scored 393. In the previous year, England easily chased down targets above 250 and 300. The approach is to push for results, which suit the viewers. Always going for it might end in England being on the wrong end of the result sometimes, but that doesn’t matter to the average viewer. They love to see teams pushing for results, which is one of the reasons why players like Rishabh Pant and Virender Sehwag became so famous among cricket fans.
The Bazball approach also means that captains and bowlers must think out of the box and be proactive. If you think of the captains most loved by fans, they have usually been those who were proactive and set unconventional fields, forcing the batters to re-think their strategy. While spectators love to watch batters hit boundaries and sixes, they also enjoy attacking bowling and aggressive captaincy. Bazball is not about batting alone. It’s an overall change in approach and mindset that keeps the audience engrossed.
Test cricket and the T20 game seemed to be poles apart at one point. It had reached a situation where many cricketers who played Test cricket were not considered for T20 sides and vice versa. Even the fan bases for Test and T20 cricket were poles apart. Bazball is that force pulling the two fan bases close to each other, making Test cricket stand out and be noticed even by adherents of the T20 game.
Test cricket fans were tuned in to watch the first day of the Ashes yesterday. The Bazball approach was immediately evident as England scored at five runs an over and declared before stumps. If one goes through various Twitter feeds, one would know that today, some more cricket viewers are tempted to watch the match to see what new wonders Bazball might throw up. The ultra-positive philosophy is here to stay, and it could well bring two very distinct worlds – Tests and T20 – much closer together.
Also Read: Sublime Root Hundred Underlines England’s Commitment to Bazball