Steve Smith not convinced England’s ‘Bazball’ will work against Australia’s all-star attack

“Bazball” is the phrase that has been used to describe the positive approach England have adopted under the leadership of Brendon “Baz” McCullum, the new head coach, and Ben Stokes, the recently appointed Test captain.

Smith, 33, who was heard shouting “Bazball” after hitting a powerful shot in the nets before Australia’s Test against Sri Lanka in Galle, has been keeping a sceptical eye on England, who lost 4-0 down under in the winter but have won their past four games, chasing a record 378 against India this week.

“It’s been exciting,” Smith said. “I’m just intrigued to see how long it lasts, if it’s sustainable. If you come in on a wicket that’s got some grass on it and Josh Hazlewood, [Pat] Cummins and [Mitchell] Starc are rolling in at you, is it going to be the same? I’m intrigued by it all. Is it going to work every time? I don’t know.”

McCullum is understood to hate the term “Bazball” and Smith revealed that the New Zealander is not the only international coach who feels that way. “The guys just keep joking about it – I think Ronnie [Andrew McDonald, Australia’s head coach] has had enough of hearing about ‘Bazball’, to be honest – it’s good fun to joke about,” he said.

While Smith may have reservations about “Bazball”, England supporters clearly disagree with him as there has been a spike in demand for tickets for the three-Test series against South Africa, which starts next month.

Sales have been particularly strong at Lord’s and Old Trafford since England’s comprehensive win against India at Edgbaston. The Kia Oval had already sold out for days one to four of its Test match – the final one of the summer.

The innovative approach England have adopted also extends to how they train and prepare for Test matches. Stokes revealed that, in their first conversation, he and McCullum resolved to treat the players as adults.

Having spent eight years quietly questioning why England blindly adhered to tradition – such as the entire team spending an hour warming up on a day when they were batting – Stokes wanted to make changes.

“The first chat with Baz was when we said, ‘Things can be done differently.’ As long as everyone is comfortable in knowing that their preparation is good, that they go out there and know that everything has been done in the way they want to do it as individuals, then why wouldn’t you do it like that?”

As a result the preparation for Tests is different than in the past. The team do not arrive at the ground until later in the morning, they do not go through rigorous warm-ups, they do not have a meeting and each player is responsible for deciding what they need to do. On a batting day the only preparation for some could simply be to have a coffee.

“The warm-up change was me saying [to Brendon], ‘Why are we going to warm up when we’re batting? What is the point of doing a few run-throughs to go and sit in my training kit in the dressing room again?’ Just little things like that,” Stokes, 31, said.

“It has taken away all the external pressures that playing international sport gives you – there’s enough on individuals and the team as it is, but taking all the other stuff away is why everything is so relaxed and calm and enjoyable at the moment.

“Everything that is said and done by this team centres on positivity. It is the theme that has run through the past four Tests, both on and off the pitch.

“We are looking at every situation we are going to find ourselves in and always looking at what the positive thing to do is. For example, we renamed what nightwatchman is all about. We called them ‘nighthawk’, and that was Stuart Broad – he was going to go out with half an hour left to play to try to literally slog. That’s where we are at the moment and it’s awesome.”

And what is the objective of the nighthawk? “To get 30 off ten [balls] – or maybe nought off one,” Stokes said.

– The Times

Originally published as Steve Smith not convinced England’s ‘Bazball’ will work against Australia’s all-star attack