England tour South Africa over the festive season, but is ‘Bazball’ a thing of the past? Ask Firdose Moonda.
England arrive for a marquee Africa this summer with questions over their ability to put a chastening 12 months behind them and whether any of their New Year’s resolutions include a little more restraint.
They are all but out of the running for the World Test Championship (WTC) final but have not lost a series to South Africa, the defending champions, since 2012, and not lost a series in South Africa since 2000 and will see this as an opportunity for rebirth after several controversies, many involving the team’s drinking culture.
At the helm is new coach Stephen Fleming, officially appointed in July and taking charge for the first time on this tour, alongside returning captain Joe Root, whose job it is to score runs and bring respectability back into their game.
He led England between 2017 and 2022 stepped down before Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum ushered in the age of ‘Bazball’, an aggressive, entertainment-focused approach to Test cricket.
Stokes and McCullum urged their players to adopt an aggressive, fearless mindset, but the approach eventually came under increasing scrutiny. It marked the end of an era for England that had promised so much but ultimately fell short of its ambitions.
On numbers alone, the Bazball era was not that bad. Between May 2022 and July 2026, England played 49 Tests under McCullum, winning 27, losing 20 and drawing two; a win rate of 55%. In series terms, they won half of the 16 series they played, drawing four and losing four.
But it was the way they were defeated in two of those four series they conceded that soaked an unwashable stain into their reputations.
Losing 1-4 to India and 1-2 to Pakistan in 2024 at a time when both teams had home conditions heavily in their favour was disappointing but not unheard of.
In fact, no one beat India in a home series between England’s win 2013 and New Zealand’s in 2024 and while Pakistan’s record is not quite as strident, there was a brief period when they rode their luck on batting first on spinners’ tracks.
Tough, but understandable.
In Australia, England lost the first Ashes Test in two days and the second in three and then went on what was described as a glorified stag-do to the coastal town of Noosa, where things started to fall apart.
Players were filmed taking up residence at beach bars, vaping and staggering around. They went on to lose the third and fifth Tests too and return home embarrassed.
England’s response was to install a midnight curfew, as though they were a team of Cinderellas. McCullum and Stokes survived the scrutiny until their home season started.
Immediately after the first match – a win over New Zealand – Stokes and Gus Atkinson were out in the early hours of the morning, there was an altercation they were adjacent to, and a huge fall out followed.
Stokes missed the next match, which England lost and then returned for the third, where he announced his retirement mid-game.
England lost again. Even with Stokes gone, an axe still needed to fall and it landed on McCullum, but he has kept the white- ball job. Still, sorry England still had mistakes to make.
With Fleming due to take over for the South Africa series, Marcus Trescothick was in charge for their home Tests against Pakistan.
Just after his first match, squad member Brydon Carse, who was released to play a county match, was caught on video in handcuffs after a night out celebrating Durham’s win over Derbyshire. In the background, Stokes lurked.
The new-old captain Root could only comment on being “hacked off,” at developments. What the impact of all this on his own game will be remains to be seen.
Root has played 101 Test matches in which he has not been England’s captain and his record in those games is eye-wateringly good.
He has scored 8696 runs including 27 centuries playing as just another member of the XI and his average is 53.34.
As captain, the record is not much worse though his average dips under 50 and
he has not scored as many hundreds.
There was a period between 2017 and 2019 when Root did not hit a century in 29 innings where the leadership seemed to be weighing on him but he came back to score three hundreds (two of which were double tons) in three games to put any worries to bed.
These days, Root’s form is not a discussion point. He is the most accomplished batter still active on the international circuit and only Sachin Tendulkar has more Test runs than him. That he will play for England is not in doubt but the question could be: for how much longer?
Root is 35 years old, has been playing at the highest level for 14 years and seems to be thinking about the twilight of his career.
He will return to Paarl Royals for season 5 of the SA20, after playing there in season 3 and there is even talk of Root looking into a winelands holiday home for post- career visits.
Before that, he will bring a Test squad headlined by seamer Jofra Archer but laced with inexperience in both the attack and the batting line-up to try and topple the WTC title-holders.
The series will be an opportunity for vice-captain Harry Brook to prove his maturity, and for the likes of opening batter Emilio Gay and wicket-keeper Jamie Smith to establish themselves as regulars.
But for England to win they will need their pace pack to step up which puts the onus on Gus Atkinson, Josh Tongue and Ollie Robinson to bring their best, and make sure they stay away from the bar.
