Bazball Returns: England's Attacking Test Series in India

Bazball Arrives In India

Published: Jan 17, 2024 Updated: May 15, 2025 Amar Patel 7 mins read 1 Disclosure

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Bazball returns as Ben Stokes’s England arrive in India for a five-match Test Series against Rohit Sharma’s Men In Blue.

In April 2022, the ECB appointed Stokes to replace Joe Root as the Captain of the England Men’s Test team.

They also made a surprise call in appointing former New Zealand wicket-keeper batsman, Brendon McCullum as Head Coach.

But it seems as if the Stokes-McCullum combo and attacking style of Test cricket, has so far paid off, as England is yet to lose a Test Match series under the Bazball era.

For those who are unsure of what ‘Bazball’ means, ‘Baz’ is the nickname of McCullum, who was very attacking in terms of the way he played the sport, hence Stoke and his team have decided to approach their way of playing Test cricket in the same way.

The Three Lions are currently third in the ICC World Test Championship table.

However, facing the second-best Test team in their backyard, is a tough challenge, especially when they have not lost a home Series for 12 years, and have a bowling attack who can perform well in all conditions.

The tourists have won just two of the nine Test Series in India. The first was a 2-1 victory in 1984-85 under David Gower.

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The second was also a 2-1 Series victory via the leadership of Sir Alastair Cook in December 2012.

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The last Test series in India was in 2021, however, things did not go to plan for the tourists, as Virat Kohli’s side pipped Root’s men and lost 3-1 in a four-match encounter.

Schedule:

The Series will consist of five Tests:

Squads

These are the squads for both teams;

Rohit Sharma (C), Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Virat Kohli, Shreyas Iyer, KL Rahul (WK), KS Bharat (WK), Dhruv Jurel (WK), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohd. Siraj, Mukesh Kumar, Jasprit Bumrah (VC), Avesh Khan

Ben Stokes (C), Rehan Ahmed, James Anderson, Gus Atkinson, Jonny Bairstow (WK), Shoaib Bashir, Harry Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ben Foakes(WK), Tom Hartley, Jack Leach, Ollie Pope(VC), Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Mark Wood.

Players To Watch

Yashasvi Jaiswal(India)

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While Indian fans are looking towards Kohli, Shubman Gill, and Sharma to be amongst the runs in this Series, The 22-year-old Left Hander from Mumbai, is certainly one to look out for in this Series.

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Jaiswal scored 173 runs on his Test debut, in the first Test against West Indies.

Although he did not get amongst the runs in South Africa, he has 2,161 runs in 19 First-Class matches, at an average of 72.03.

This includes ten centuries and three half-centuries, with a highest score of 267.

“I keep working hard on my practice sessions and on my process. Whenever I get my chance I try my best and make sure that I am doing things for the team which is important.
Jaiswal: NDTV Sports

Can the youngster prove why he is a real star of the future?

Shoaib Bashir (England)

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The ECB selection panel, which includes Stokes and McCullum, have focussed their attention on spinners who can bowl at a quicker pace, and drive the ball into the wicket.

The bonus of this is that batsmen can sometimes find it difficult to read how the ball reacts off the surface, once it is delivered at a fast pace, particularly if it’s a raging turner.

In contrast, the slower you bowl, the batsman has more time to read you off the pitch.

Hopping to be amongst the wickets, is the tall Right-arm Off Spinner from Somerset. Bashir who was picked on trial for the Southwest County side, picked up a total of 10 wickets in his debut season, at an average of 67, and a strike rate of 121.8.

He featured in two Somerset 2nd XI championship matches in September 2022 taking nine wickets with his best figures being 5 for 44 against Warwickshire.

Tom Hartley (England)

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Another spinner to keep an eye on is the Left-arm spinner from Lancashire. 40 wickets from 20 matches isn’t a bad first-class record for someone who is yet to make his Test debut, but does he have the consistency to bowl the ball in the right areas frequently?

Hartley made his ODI debut against Ireland in September 2023. He did not pick up a wicket in those two ODI, but his form in County Cricket last season was good, as he bagged 19 wickets in the Championship this year at an average of 44.84.76

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The problem Stokes will have is that he already has Jack Leach, who has 124 wickets in 35 Tests and had played in the last Series in India, where he was arguably the best bowler for England with 18 scalps at an average of 28.72.

So it could be the case that for the first Test, he’ll have Leach as the main spinner, and then have Bashir or Hartley as the backup spinner.

Another important thing for Stokes to decide is who will take the new ball alongside James Anderson now that Stuart Broad has retired from International cricket.

ALSO READ: Virat Kohli Announces His Retirement from Test Cricket

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The more likely candidate would be Chris Woakes, who has plenty of experience, especially with swinging the new ball.

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And with 149 wickets at a strike rate of 57.5 and an average of 29.13, there is no reason as to why he should not take the new ball.

But on the other hand, you also have Ollie Robinson, who has 76 wickets in 19 Test matches and has the knack of picking up wickets, especially with the new ball.

And it’s more likely that the seamers will get the majority of their wickets with the new ball, so perhaps Robinson may be the better option, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see Woakes opening the bowling with Anderson.

Pace: Wood Or Atkinson

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Reverse swing is such a crucial asset for seamers to take wickets in the sub-continent, and unless you’re as skilful as Anderson, you need a certain amount of pace to beat the batsman through the air.

This is where Wood and/or Atkinson can be useful in terms of using their pace to defeat batsmen through the air or off the pitch.

Wood has played 31 Tests so far for England, and has picked up 104 wickets, at an average of 29.45, and a strike rate of 54.

Atkinson, who is yet to make his debut, has 45 wickets in 14 County Championship matches for Surrey, at an average of 26.64, and a strike rate of 45.2. Can he make an impression on the Test format in India, should he get the opportunity?

One more crucial aspect for Stokes will be how he uses his bowlers.

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He ideally should be looking to use the seamers in short spells and rotate them in terms of managing their workload i.e length of spells, and from which end to bowl them, as the conditions in India can be searingly hot, and the surfaces can sometimes be as flat as a road.

Who will come out on top in this enthralling Series?

Find out by keeping up to date with World In Sport.

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