England just get lost with term bazball, fumes Nasser
Dharamsala, March 10: Miffed at England’s 4-1 shellacking by India, former captain Nasser Hussain has advised the team’s misfiring batters to work on individual performances and eschew their obsession with bazball.
Bazball, which is derived from England Test coach Brendon McCullum’s nickname Baz, fell flat as the tourists capitulated in three days in the fifth and final Test here, helping India secure their 17th straight Test series triumph on home soil on Saturday.
“We just get lost with this term Bazball. The team, the management does not like the term Bazball. They need to look at their own individual performances,” Hussain, who led England in 45 Test matches from 1999 to 2003, wrote in his column for Sky Sports.
He added, “Look at the opposition. Like in anything in life, try and learn. Why did we collapse?
“Why Crawley keeps getting starts and keeps getting out? Ben Duckett, got a brilliant 150, gave a charge when the ball was too new.”
By his standards, skipper Ben Stokes had a forgettable series and that was not lost on Hussain.
“Ben Stokes had a poor series with the bat. Maybe because he is playing only with the bat. Just look at your own game and improve,” said Hussain.
England rarely had the kind of collective batting performance that India enjoyed throughout the series, with their misfiring middle-order primarily to blame for the frequent collapses.
The former opener praised James Anderson who completed 700 Test wickets in his 187th match, calling it an unbelievable achievement and also lauded senior India spinner R. Ashwin for crossing 100 Test matches and picking 500 wickets.
“There is too much said and written about Bazball. I have said the other day it is about the individuals. It is about the individual performances in those situations.
“There are two people playing in this game. Jimmy Anderson and R Ashwin. The reason they end up as greats of the game is because they are constantly looking at improving in the game. Trying to improve,” said Hussain.