“Bazball doesn’t work against world class bowling attack”: Mohammad Kaif questions Bazball tactics as England lose Lord’s Test vs South Africa

Mohammad Kaif questions Bazball tactics: The former Indian batter queried around the sustainability of Bazball.

South Africa have continued their domination in Test cricket by winning sixth out of their seventh Test match this year in spite of a comparatively inexperienced team.

Most Test wins in 2022 despite two other teams playing more matches than them speak highly about South Africa’s current form in cricket’s ancestral format. Readers must note that their victories in 2022 have come across four oppositions and three continents.

The latest one has come in the first Test match against England at Lord’s after a comprehensive bowling performance propelled them to win by an innings and 12 runs on the third day itself.

Trailing by 161 runs in the first innings, England registered their second batting collapse of the match on the back of getting bowled out for 149 in 37.4 overs in the second innings.

Mohammad Kaif questions Bazball tactics as England lose Lord’s Test

A contrasting result to what had otherwise been a remarkable Test summer under new head coach Brendon McCullum and new captain Ben Stokes has made former India batter Mohammad Kaif join his former teammate Wasim Jaffer is commenting regarding Bazball.

While Jaffer had just taken a dig at the concept, Kaif has questioned its sustainability against world-class bowling attacks and captains who set “smart fields”.

South Africa shows that Bazball doesn’t work against world class bowling attack with variety and a sharp captain who sets smart fields. #SAvsENG

— Mohammad Kaif (@MohammadKaif) August 19, 2022

In all honesty, criticizing Bazball after just one defeat is slightly unfair primarily because of the limited sample size. As a matter of fact, England winning three and losing one Test under McCullum calls for an impressive record especially after taking into consideration their Test record of the last two years or so.

With England defeating New Zealand and India earlier this summer, led by Kane Williamson and Jasprit Bumrah respectively, Bazball’s failures according to Kaif can’t be given an assurance at this point in time.

About the author

Dixit Bhargav

Born and brought up in Pathankot, Dixit Bhargav is an engineering and sports management graduate who works as a Cricket Editor at The SportsRush. Having written more than 10,000 articles across more than five years at TSR, his first cricketing memory dates back to 2002 when former India captain Sourav Ganguly had waved his jersey at the historic Lord’s balcony. What followed for an 8-year-old was an instant adulation for both Ganguly and the sport. The optimist in him is waiting for the day when Punjab Kings will win their maiden Indian Premier League title. When not watching cricket, he is mostly found in a cinema hall watching a Punjabi movie.

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