Since Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum took over the reins of the England cricket team in Test matches, they have brought about a complete transformation. Their leadership has instilled a more aggressive approach in the players, resulting in an impressive record of 14 wins out of 18 Test matches. The recently concluded Ashes 2023 showcased their team’s resilience, as they bounced back from being 2-0 down.
However, there are doubts about whether their aggressive ‘Bazball’ philosophy will be effective in the subcontinent, particularly against India. When asked about this, Ben Stokes responded that only time will provide the answer. Former England captain Nasser Hussain also weighed in, expressing that the series against India would be fascinating to watch, given the challenge of playing the same brand of cricket against India’s spin trio – Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel.
Nasser Hussain said
“England have options. It’s the next Test for Bazball. They said Bazball will work against one side, then they moved on to the next side. Then they moved on to New Zealand, Australia, and Pakistan. The next challenge is India and everyone knows India in India is one of the sternest challenges in Test match cricket. It’s Bazball against spin. Bazball against Ravi Ashwin, (Ravindra) Jadeja, and Axar Patel and that is going to be fascinating,” Hussain said while taking to ICC.
The 55-year-old went on to suggest that he thought Jack Leach would be well enough by then and that he thought England should select Rehan Ahmed as their second spinner. Additionally, he stated that Surrey pacer Gus Atkinson should be taken into consideration by the selection committee because the visiting squad might want an additional pacer in the mix.
“Jack Leach will (hopefully) be back and Rehan Ahmed is a very good second spinner, as we saw in Pakistan. Josh Tongue has bowled really well. Ollie Robinson is a very skillful bowler. Unfortunately, someone like Olly Stone is injured and obviously, Jofra Archer is injured. You need that extra pace as well in India. So England has got…they’ve got that lad (Gus) Atkinson at Surrey, who has a lot of good things being said about him,” Hussain added.
Stay updated with all the cricketing action, follow Cricadium on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram
