When Brendon McCullum took over as England’s Test coach in May 2022, he brought with him a philosophy that would redefine England’s cricketing identity — Bazball. Aggression, freedom, and intent became the buzzwords.Go Beyond The Boundary with our YouTube channel. SUBSCRIBE NOW!In just three years, England’s home record under McCullum speaks for itself: 17 wins and six losses from 25 Tests, a win percentage of 68% compared to just 38.46% [in five series] before his arrival. Away, they’ve improved from 30% wins [in six series] to 46.7%. The feel-good factor is undeniable.
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But amid the hype, an uncomfortable question is brewing: at what cost to the traditional balance of Test cricket?The most glaring shift has been the pitches. The traditionally seamer-friendly pitches in England are becoming flatter and flatter, favouring batters more than the bowlers.
England during Bazball era:
The last two five-Test series between India and England, separated by just four years, tell a stark story.In the recently concluded Anderson-Tendulkar Trophy, batting records tumbled. Shubman Gill, captaining India for the first time in a Test series, plundered 754 runs. KL Rahul (532) and Ravindra Jadeja (516) also crossed 500 runs. Nine batters in total passed 400 runs. On the bowling front, only Mohammed Siraj cracked 20 wickets (23), with Josh Tongue (19) and Ben Stokes (17) the only others close.
England just before Bazball (11 Test series):
Contrast that with India’s 2021-22 visit. Joe Root dominated with 737 runs, but no one else crossed 404 – Jonny Bairstow’s aggregate. Bowlers, meanwhile, thrived: Jasprit Bumrah topped with 23 wickets, Ollie Robinson and James Anderson both claimed 21, and Siraj took 18.The 2021-22 series saw only three team totals above 400 – unsurprisingly one of them came in the Bazball era, too, as the last match was postponed due to Covid. This year, the mark was breached seven times, including two 500+ scores — England’s 669 in Manchester and India’s 587 in Birmingham.
The evidence is clear: Bazball isn’t just a mindset; it has coincided with flatter pitches that neuter bowlers and inflate batting numbers. This is a dramatic shift in England, historically a haven for swing and seam movement.Some of this is down to the modern batting psyche. The T20 era has bred aggression, fearlessness, and the ability to sustain high strike rates. And Bazball has weaponised those traits in Test cricket, removing the caution that once kept bowlers in the contest for longer. In doing so, England may have traded away their greatest traditional asset — home advantage for the seam bowlers.It raises a bigger concern for Test cricket. If even England — once grouped with South Africa and New Zealand as bowler-friendly nations — produces flat pitches, the bowlers risk being squeezed out further. There are fewer and fewer conditions left where bowlers can dictate terms, and that threatens the format’s variety and balance.
Harry Brook (R) of England with Joe Root. (Getty Images)
Of course, the entertainment value is undeniable – if you are one that enjoys boundaries galore. Chasing down 300+ in the fourth innings is no longer rare for England; it’s almost expected. Crowds are treated to a flurry of boundaries and aggressive declarations. Younger fans, raised on franchise cricket, are embracing it. And with all five matches of the latest India series going the distance, purists can hardly claim the game is being shortened.But the long-term effects remain to be seen.For now, England aren’t complaining — the wins, and the spectacle, are theirs. Supporters are thrilled, broadcasters are happy, and the team has a swagger not seen in years. So for the time being, all we can do is watch the run-fests roll on and marvel at the records. The batting records that is.
