MELBOURNE :While England have ample time to sift through the rubble of defeat in Perth, the tourists are unlikely to come up with a new game-plan to replace ‘Bazball’ for the second test against Australia in Brisbane.
Like former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum has never been one for a U-turn – as cricketer, captain or current England coach.
Long before he unleashed England’s Bazball revolution he staked his reputation on attacking instinct, first as a pugnacious wicketkeeper-batter and then as the captain who dragged New Zealand into a first World Cup final in 2015.
He set the tone for the Black Caps by going hard from ball one – and in the biggest game of all he went hard again, only to be bowled third ball by a Mitchell Starc yorker.
New Zealand duly crashed to defeat by Australia, but 10 years on McCullum’s convictions remain unchanged.
In Ben Stokes he has a kindred spirit and trusted confidante, a captain who dominates the dressing room and has nailed his colours firmly to the Bazball mast.
Reining in the aggression would require Stokes himself to turn away from a philosophy he has fully bought into for three years.
‘UNFORGIVING WALL OF AUSTRALIAN REALITY’
England have not won the Ashes in Australia after losing the first test since the 1950s but McCullum and Stokes will remain convinced they can turn the series around, just as they did against South Africa in 2022 when they won 2-1 after losing the opener at Lord’s.
They were 2-0 down to Australia on home soil in the 2023 Ashes after losing the first two tests but dominated the rest of the drawn series, even if the urn eluded them again.
For all the criticism raining down on England after the two-day mayhem in Perth, they had the game in the palm of their hand. It took five English wickets falling in 40 minutes of madness for England to turn Bazball from a weapon into a stick to be beaten with.
Still, the question hangs over this series: will Bazball even work in Australia?
Many pundits are unconvinced and argue that the extra pace and bounce of the wickets, as well as the hosts’ discipline, will expose England’s high-wire act over five tests.
“(Perth) may yet come to be regarded as the moment test cricket either redefined itself for the entertainment age or the precise point at which Bazball finally crashed into the unforgiving wall of Australian reality,” former Australia captain Greg Chappell wrote in the Sydney Morning Herald.
Others argue that Travis Head’s match-winning hundred in 69 balls was Bazball personified, just not under an English flag.
Brisbane’s day-night test may make a return to English pragmatism even more unlikely – all 13 pink ball tests in Australia have produced results and none of the last four have made it to a fifth day.
Another rapid result at the Gabba would surprise no one as both teams look to land an early knockout blow rather than stay the distance.
England’s task is unlikely to get any easier.
Australia’s regular captain Pat Cummins practised with the pink ball in a nets session during New South Wales training in Sydney on Tuesday and the brilliant fast bowler is eyeing a return from a back injury at the Gabba.
But even if England drop the test to fall 2-0 behind, McCullum and Stokes may still back their players to get back in the saddle and charge to a comeback series win for the ages.
If it all goes awry, though, the three-year Bazball era could face an uncomfortable reckoning after less than two weeks of cricket in Australia.
