Since former New Zealand cricketer Brendon McCullum took over as the head coach of the English cricket team, they have shaped up as a dangerous side in Test matches. They have won 11 of their 15 matches since the former Kiwi joined in and Ben Stokes was given the reins of the team. The reason behind this upward change is said to be ‘Bazball’ — an aggressive approach that brings the limited overs’ style to the longer format.
A good example of Bazball was England’s decision to declare at 393/8 on Day 1 of the Ashes opener on 7 June even when a set Joe Root was at the crease unbeaten on 118. Instead of trying to put on a grand safe total on the board, which could use more time and increase the chances of the match going towards a draw, England chose to declare and take a crack at winning straight away.
However, McCullum wasn’t the first choice for the role according to former Australian captain Ricky Ponting and he was approached to coach the team before McCullum was given the role.
“I actually got asked before Brendon took the job, there you go. You guys might be the first to find that out — but I did take some calls from Robert Key (managing director of the English Cricket team) as soon as he (McCullum) took over that job,” Ponting told Guerilla Cricket.
“But I’m just not ready for a full-time international coaching job, where I’m at in my life,” Ponting stated.
One of the major reasons for Ponting declining the offer was his family and he doesn’t want to stay away for longer periods.
“Having travelled as much as I have, with young kids now I just don’t want to be away as much as I was,” he said.
He also mentioned his conversation with McCullum during the Ashes opener on how he was managing his family time with the job.
“And even talking to Brendon, his family is only just arriving today. When you’ve got kids that are in school, moving them around, that’s not what I want to do,” he said.
Meanwhile, Australia won the first Test by 2 wickets. And this invited the ire of English veterans who targeted Stokes and McCullum for being carried away by ‘Bazball’ and not taking the format seriously by employing an approach focusing more on making the game exciting and entertaining but less on winning.
Defending their approach, coach McCullum said: “The application to how we want to play right throughout was superb. A couple of things didn’t quite go our way at times as well, but that’s the nature of the game.”
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