Right after England had whitewashed New Zealand 3-0 and defeated India in a one-off Test on the back of four cracking run-chases at home, it was around this time last year when the term BazBall had become a proper thing among cricket fans across the globe. Post what has been an entertaining year especially with respect to the English Test team, even Pakistan appear to have been bitten by a similar bug named PakBall.
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In what are very early days for them in an engrossing world of slam-bang Test cricket, their fans have already provided validation to Pakistan with respect to them successfully taking a leaf out of England’s book. Not just limited to fans, Pakistan’s batting on the first day of their ongoing second Test match against Sri Lanka has also made former speedster Shoaib Akhtar wonder if PakBall is becoming a thing.
Akhtar, who sought opinion of his followers on social media platform Twitter, was immediately schooled about the fact that PakBall has already become a thing. Having bundled out Sri Lanka for 166, Pakistan responded by scoring 145/2 in 28.3 overs at a run rate of 5.08 at Stumps, Day 1.
What Is PakBall In Cricket?
Just like BazBall, PakBall can also be defined as an aggressive brand of cricket particularly in cricket’s ancestral format. While BazBall was named after England head coach Brendon McCullum in spite of his hate for the term, PakBall is also a fan-generated term named after the first three alphabets of the nation.
It is worth mentioning that this aggressive brand of cricket isn’t just limited to batting. In fact, quite interestingly, it also covers other crucial elements of cricket such as bowling, field placements and captaincy. For instance, declaring an innings with the best batter batting on 118* on the first day of a five-match Ashes series also falls under this refreshing ploy.
With Pakistan captain Babar Azam yet to make such debatable decisions, only time will tell the extent to which he habituates himself to PakBall.
Is Shan Masood A Trailblazer Behind PakBall?
Not that others haven’t improved their strike rates but Pakistan batter Shan Masood appears to be the most fearless and fervent proponent of PakBall. What sets Masood apart from others is the fact that he hasn’t attempted to tone down his approach even at the cost of losing his wicket more than once.
Addressing the media during the first Test in Galle, Masood had tried explaining Pakistan’s rejigged approach. For those who don’t know, because Masood plays for Yorkshire in county cricket, it wouldn’t be surprising to know in the future if his county stint played a part in changing his mind. Fourth-highest run-scorer in the ongoing series till now, Masood’s 97 runs have come at an astounding strike rate of 110.22.
“We’re living in a day and age when there’s thrill-seeking batsmen going after bowlers, scoring runs and showing off their skills. Yes, we’d like to play a brand of cricket that’s attractive, but we’d like to play a brand of cricket that helps us win games.”
Is There Any Other Similarity Between BazBall And PakBall?
Yes. Support staff.
Unlike England, who had launched BazBall under a new coach McCullum and new captain Ben Stokes, Pakistan have launched PakBall under a new coaching team.
While Azam had led Pakistan in 18 Tests (Stokes had only led once as a makeshift captain) before this series, they have a new support staff comprising Mickey Arthur (team director), Grant Bradburn (head coach), Andrew Puttick (batting coach) and Morne Morkel (bowling coach). Arthur, who also works as a head coach at Derbyshire, could’ve also brought in the auxiliary English influence.
Another major similarity lies in the recent form of England and Pakistan before adapting to the respective above mentioned stratagems. While England had won one, lost 11 and drawn five out of their 17 Tests before McCullum and Stokes joined hands, Pakistan won one, lost five and drawn three out of their nine Tests in 2022.
