The end came swiftly. It took New Zealand only 51.2 overs to wrap up the England second innings at Trent Bridge.

Jamie Smith’s slog against Mitchell Santner ended in the hands of a diving Nathan Smith, running in from long-on. That was not just the end of the third Test. It was also the end of what was perhaps the most discussed, or debated, style of playing Test cricket since Bodyline.

Breaking point

New Zealand won by 160 runs, and also became the first team ever to win a three-match series in England after losing the opening Test. It was indeed a fabulous achievement by Tom Latham’s men.

For Latham’s English counterpart, Ben Stokes, it was his last international match. For the coach, Brendon McCullum, it was the last Test in charge of England.

Bazball thus came to its inevitable end. Ironically, it had begun with a series against New Zealand in an English summer, four years ago. And it had begun in magnificent fashion, with England winning four Tests, all chasing, all with guns blazing, in a row — three against New Zealand and one against India.

It was even more remarkable because the England Test team was going through a tough period at that time: it had won just one of 17 matches after the first Test against India at Chennai in early 2021. Coach Chris Silverwood lost his job, following the 0-4 drubbing in the 2021-22 Ashes in Australia, and after the defeat in the Caribbean in March 2022, Joe Root resigned.

So, it wasn’t the most ideal of situations when McCullum was appointed as England’s Test coach by Rob Key, managing director of England men’s cricket. And the Kiwi had no previous experience of coaching in red-ball cricket, though he had been in charge of franchise teams such as the Kolkata Knight Riders.

McCullum conceived, Stokes executed. They will be remembered as one of cricket’s most remarkable coach-captain duos.

Their approach to playing Test cricket was the kind that hadn’t been witnessed before. New Zealand and India weren’t prepared for the ultra-aggressive mode of cricket England played in the summer of 2022.

It was not just England’s style that was spectacular. The results were, too.

Against New Zealand, England’s scores in the second innings were 279 for five, 299 for five, and 296 for three. Against India, it was 378 for three. And those chases were completed at brisk strike-rates.

Chasing a big total has always been a daunting task in Test cricket. Safety first has nearly always been the mantra, and even that stunning chase by India against Australia at Brisbane in 2021 had begun on a cautious note. It took an extraordinary hook by Washington Sundar against Pat Cummins and an out-of-the-world counterattacking knock by Rishabh Pant to make India shift gears and aim for the ultimate glory.

Interestingly, Stokes once spoke of how the manner in which Pant played made him think about the possibilities of aggressive batting in Test cricket. And before Pant, there were Adam Gilchrist and Virender Sehwag, but what made the concept of Bazball different was that everyone wanted to bat as if there was no tomorrow. If a wicketkeeper as accomplished as Ben Foakes could not find a place in the eleven, it showed what McCullum and Stokes wanted.

Finding expression

What Bazball looked to do was to remove the fear of failing. So regardless of the situation, a player was allowed to play his strokes, or express himself, as England cricketers would explain in press conference after press conference. When England fielded, the bowlers were asked to always look for wickets; restricting the batters from making runs wasn’t the priority.

And England wanted to win. An exciting — though not successful — chase was found more appealing than a draw. One was never sure if that was quite right in competitive sport. And one of the charms of Test cricket — and also what someone new to cricket would not understand — is the sheer thrill of not getting a decisive result after playing for five days, more than 30 hours.

Such trivial matters, however, didn’t cross the minds of the English players, and their fans, for much of the early part of the Bazball era, as the team posted some astounding wins, like the one against Pakistan at Rawalpindi in 2022, when England scored 657 from just 101 overs. Two years later, the victory against India in the first Test at Hyderabad was even greater, as England had conceded a first-innings lead of 190.

The four Tests that followed, however, showed why Bazball can’t work all the time. India won all those matches. For all England’s aggressive intent, it is debatable whether a batter of Root’s quality needed to play a reverse scoop against a bowler of Jasprit Bumrah’s quality.

An identical scoreline (4-1) in the most recent Ashes in Australia meant that Bazball couldn’t click against stronger opposition. Bazball also worked more on flatter surfaces, while it had problems when the ball moved or turned.

Right from the beginning of Bazball, the big question was whether it was a sustainable model. As former England batter Mark Butcher told The Hindu recently, Test cricket is a format that dictates to you what is necessary. “If you push too hard, the game will bite you back,” he said.

McCullum and Stokes had indeed pushed too hard. When you go on to lose a Test match by two wickets after declaring on the opening day with two wickets remaining, questions are bound to be asked.

Questions were also asked about how some of the England players behaved off the field during the Bazball era. The pub-incident involving Stokes and Gus Atkinson this summer didn’t help, either.

The statistics may not say that England benefited much from Bazball. In 49 Tests, England scored 27 wins, but lost 20. That there were just two draws is of course hardly surprising.

A fair evaluation

But it would not be fair to evaluate Bazball’s legacy just based on numbers, even if they are impressive when it comes to run-rates, strike-rates and hundreds. It was an attempt to play Test cricket in a different way and entertain the paying public.

But for Bazball, we would not have been able to witness Jonny Bairstow metamorphosing into Viv Richards in 2022 or Ollie Pope turning the reverse sweep into the best form of defence during his monumental 196 in the Hyderabad Test. Bazball was fun while it lasted.

It could have lasted longer perhaps if England had been a little more conservative on occasion and realised that Test cricket’s charm lies in its infinite variety. There is more than one way to play what is the most demanding form of all sports.

There is joy in watching Harry Brook dance down the track. There is also joy in watching Shubman Gill play a perfect forward defensive push.

England’s Joe Root led ⁠the side in 64 tests from 2017 ​to 2022. File.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

It was 25 years ago that Mark Butcher scored a monumental 173 not out in England’s successful chase against Australia in the Headingley Test. He scored seven other Test hundreds, some of them against the most fearsome attacks. He is now a popular commentator and sharp analyst of the game. Excerpts from Butcher’s exclusive interview with The Hindu at Lord’s:

Your comparison of Vaibhav Sooryavanshi with Garry Sobers earlier this year got a lot of attention. It was fascinating, how you proved, through the help of visuals, the similarities in the bat swing, hand speed…

I watched him make that 175 [off 80 balls] in the Under-19 World Cup final [against England at Harare]. I was struck by that incredible, long, high backlift, the huge follow-through, the complete circle almost where the bat finishes around, tapping him on the spine. You know, Sobers used to hit a lot of shots with his feet together. He would play full balls almost off the back foot. And Sooryavanshi can hit them like that too.

Even if his career ends up not reaching the expectations that other people have, which I think is very unlikely, he has still in the IPL done something that all of the greatest players up until now have never, ever done: none of them have managed to score at a strike-rate of 230, hit that many sixes, be that consistent in the entirety of the IPL. It is still one of the most remarkable things I have ever seen.

Today’s youngsters are exposed to T20 from the beginning, whereas when I was very young, it was Test matches. They grow up thinking about batting very much in a hyper aggressive mode. These younger guys can do things at their age that we wouldn’t have dreamt of at ours.

ALSO READ | Garry Sobers: cricket’s greatest — a legacy beyond numbers

Yes, even Sachin Tendulkar didn’t hit as many sixes, for all his genius. Sooryavanshi is a product of the T20 era of cricket.

Correct. So he will have to learn the game the other way around. He will have to learn how to bat time, to defend. In our generation, it was the opposite. We would have to spend a lot of time learning how to hit the ball.

How do you recall your masterpiece — 173 not out in 2001?

My main memory is about that summer, really. I wasn’t expecting to play Test cricket again. I got an opportunity and I played 42 Tests in a row. I had completely changed my game.

Your father helped, didn’t he?

That is right. The biggest thing I remember is the relationship I had with my dad in the winter of 2001. I called him and said, ‘Dad, I am hating playing cricket.’ Something that I had always loved. Now I was hating it. And I said to him — ‘Treat me as though I have never played the game before.’ So we went right back to the beginning. He really taught me how to hold the bat, how to stand, the whole thing. We changed my grip. We changed my stance. We changed my backlift. Everything. We went back to zero. Like I was five years old. And we worked like that for about three months. And then I luckily got back into the team. I had made a few runs playing for Surrey. A few injuries in the England camp before the Ashes started, and I got in.

How much does that knock, which came against Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne, Brett Lee and Jason Gillespie, mean to you?

Ah, it was huge. You wouldn’t be talking to me if it hadn’t been for that. And I wouldn’t be working in TV either. So that innings changed everything. It was the greatest day.

And how was the coach’s reaction?

I know my dad was in tears when [BBC] Test Match Special called him up.

The players you like to watch these days?

I actually love watching K.L. Rahul. I think he is a sensational player. Really classy. Harry Brook is fabulous to watch when he is in. Joe Root, too. And Travis Head — you can’t take your eyes off the screen when he is batting.

You have played against some of the greatest bowlers in history. Who were the most challenging among them?

Blimey! Curtly Ambrose. Him and Courtney Walsh. And then you had, obviously, Shane Warne. Glenn McGrath. Murali [Muttiah Muralitharan].

Among the Indians?

Harbhajan [Singh] and [Anil] Kumble, on those tracks.

And the batters you admired?

[Brian] Lara was sort of the king around about those times. Fellow left-hander, so I greatly admired him. Then the guys like [Ricky] Ponting, Sachin [Tendulkar], obviously. I remember applauding Ricky from second slip at the WACA, much to the annoyance of Nasser Hussain, who was standing next to me at slip. He glared at me. I was just standing there going, ‘Oh man, that’s good’. There were a lot of great players around, like the South Africans, Jacques Kallis and Graeme Smith.

Is there cause for concern about the future of Test cricket?

Yeah, of course, there is. What you would like is to have eight to ten teams who are competing on a level playing field. If only England, Australia and India are playing each other, the game is starting to eat itself, you know.

Eventually, one of the great things about all of the series that go around is that you are anticipating and you are excited about the idea about playing this team at this venue. But if it is the same three teams the whole time, it is not that exciting.

What has happened in the modern era is that the gap between the countries that have plenty of finances and the rest has got wider. The competition has perhaps thinned out a little bit in recent times. And that is a huge shame, that finances have meant that a lot of countries, the West Indies, being the most obvious example simply because of their dominance [in the past], have suffered.

South Africa are kind of hanging in there. They are still producing a lot of players and they still manage just about to keep enough of their most talented players to play Tests. But in places like Sri Lanka and the West Indies, they find it very difficult to keep their best players who disappear off to earn more money playing T20. And that is a problem for the world game.

The First Class game and the structures that produce Test Match cricketers are strong in some places and not very strong at all in others.

Your thoughts on Bazball?

I have been critical of it at times. In the game of cricket, the Test match is the game. And they tried to do something that was going to take the game to a different place. But Test match cricket kind of fought against it a little bit. Because when it came down to it, in the big games against the likes of India and Australia, it didn’t work. And so, Test match cricket is kind of greater than any idea that people might have around how you play it.

And Test cricket is the greatest form of sport.

It is. The sport itself dictates to you what is necessary. And if you push too hard, the game will bite you back. And that is what happened. There is as much pleasure to be taken from a really hard-fought draw sometimes as there is from smashing it all over the park.

ALSO READ | Cricket World Cup – Will expansion lead to elevation?

The women got to play a Test at Lord’s, finally.

This has come about because the world has decided, well, you know, this is a great game of cricket, right? Why would we want to stop 50% of the world’s population from enjoying and playing the sport that we think is a great sport? And so that opportunity is now there and what you are seeing is a product of that.

Players in the women’s game that you enjoy watching?

I like Smriti Mandhana’s batting. She is just an incredibly graceful player. So easy on the eye. Very, very lovely to watch. She plays pace and spin equally well. She reminds me of David Gower, in fact. Harmanpreet Kaur is very good to watch, too. And Jemimah Rodrigues is a fine technician.

Besides cricket, music is your other passion. And you had the opportunity of performing with Sarah Brightman, one of the greatest voices of our time.

It was good fun, singing some of Sarah’s favourite songs on live television. It was kind of nerve-racking, but it was good.

Giving due credit: Brook was vocal about McCullum’s contribution as a Test coach.
| Photo Credit: AP

England head coach Brendon McCullum.
| Photo Credit: AP

Those calling for the heads of contemporary cricket’s two most influential coaches, India’s Gautam Gambhir and England’s Brendon McCullum ignore that the metric by which success is measured might be changing. England lost the Ashes series in Australia while India’s recent loss to New Zealand followed losses at home and away.

Sometimes it seems that today’s coaches are not judged on results alone — although Gambhir must hope that India win the World T20 next month so he can breathe more freely. They are judged on team culture. Are the players happy? Are they improving? Are they expressing themselves?

McCullum has said he is not for “being told what to do.” That sounds like something Gambhir, less articulate and more aggressive, might say too.

A consequence of the modern game’s formats and data-driven approach is the modified role of the coach. The cricket coach once existed in the margins. He was there to oil the machinery, not redesign it. The captain ruled, the selectors ordained, and the coach was merely the man in the background, often in a floppy hat, occasionally blamed when nothing else worked.

The modern coach has moved from the shadows to the centre as strategist, psychologist, data interpreter, public speaker, and damage controller. In the amateur era, coaching was considered unnecessary. Great players were assumed to be self-explanatory texts. A coach, if appointed, was often a senior figure whose authority came from past deeds rather than present ideas. He was there to nod wisely, occasionally say “well played”, and ensure the nets were rolled properly. The captain decided the team, the batting order, and the tactics.

Curator of knowledge

Video analysis, fitness metrics, opposition data, and the tyranny of spreadsheets have transformed the coach into a curator of knowledge. Someone had to connect the numbers to the humans. The captain still led on the field, but the coach now shaped strategy. Preparation was power. T20 compressed authority. The coach, who lived in the future, suddenly had more influence than the captain who lived in the present.

Players are brands, investments, and fragile assets. They are managed across formats, franchises, and national loyalties. Someone must coordinate all this to keep chaos at bay. Welcome, the McCullums and the Gambhirs.

The relationship between coach and captain is crucial, but they are human beings, with egos and failings. When tensions arise, it is unclear who ranks higher. This ambiguity is new, and cricket is still adjusting to it. 

A Virat Kohli as skipper is unhappy with an Anil Kumble as coach, and the latter loses his job. A Gambhir possibly has issues with Rohit Sharma, and out goes the captain. Gambhir is the closest cricket has had to a football supremo. This has to do as much with his cricketing credentials as his political ones as a prominent member of the ruling party.

England’s coach thinks up a system first and then squeezes his players into it. Bazball is not everybody’s cup of tea, but it was successful. Many who supported it initially are its biggest critics now. This might qualify as bad faith, but critics are human too. If McCullum loses his job, what made England cricket so attractive might be jettisoned.

Skipper Ben Stokes has been supportive of his coach. Indian captains rarely express opinions beyond the ‘official’, so we don’t know what they think.

Losing coaches often say that a coach is only as good as the players under him. Had India won the last Test series in England (they drew 2-2), both debutant skipper Shubhman Gill and coach Gambhir would have received credit, although how much each got is not easily calculated.

And that’s the issue. You can’t put a number on team spirit, culture etc. except by the old metric. Team spirit leads to wins. The culture in a winning team is fine. Sometimes the abstract is easier to understand than the concrete. Those asking for the heads of McCullum and Gambhir are saying in effect that only results matter.

Reality in cricket has moved beyond the methods to calculate it. The important question belongs to the old metric, however: Did the decisions lead to victory? McCullum and Gambhir are caught in the cleft between process and outcome, between the old and the new.

Published – January 21, 2026 12:35 am IST

England coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes see cricket as entertainment, feel they owe something to the spectators
| Photo Credit: Gareth Copley

File photo of England head coach Brendon McCullum.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

England’s quest for their maiden ICC Men’s Champions Trophy title carries the weight of past performances and high expectations across the years. Having conquered both the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup, the Champions Trophy remains the only white-ball title missing from their cabinet. Twice before, in 2004 under Michael Vaughan and in 2013 under Alastair Cook, England came agonisingly close, only to falter at the final hurdle against India. Now, as they prepare for the 2025 edition, a full-strength squad, a renewed tactical approach, and the aggressive philosophy of new white-ball head coach Brendon McCullum offer a fresh shot at redemption.

Strength: England’s strength lies in their formidable batting unit, one that has defined their white-ball dominance over the past decade. The team has been the fastest-scoring ODI side since the 2023 World Cup, scoring at 6.02 runs per over. The presence of Jos Buttler, Joe Root, Harry Brook, Phil Salt and Ben Duckett ensures that England can take the attack to any opposition.

Root’s adaptability and experience make him a crucial figure, particularly in Pakistani conditions where spin is expected to play a key role. Alongside Buttler’s explosiveness and Brook’s fearless approach, England’s batting line-up is built to dictate terms, balancing aggression with the ability to stabilise when needed.

Weakness: However, England’s lead-up to the tournament has been far from ideal. They have won only four of the thirteen ODIs played since the 2023 World Cup and have suffered four consecutive series defeats. This slump has raised concerns about their ability to perform under pressure in a major tournament.

The inconsistency stems largely from an unsettled squad, with key players missing various assignments due to injuries, rest periods, and franchise cricket commitments. Jos Buttler, their full-time captain, has featured in just six ODIs since the World Cup, and the lack of continuity has disrupted their rhythm.

Adding to their worries is the lack of depth in the spin department. With Moeen Ali retired, the burden falls solely on Adil Rashid, England’s most successful ODI spinner. Rashid remains a world-class bowler, but at 36, questions remain over whether he can shoulder the responsibility alone across an entire tournament. His form will be crucial, particularly in the middle overs, where England have often struggled to contain scoring rates.

Joe Root and Liam Livingstone are England’s only other viable spin options, but neither offers the same level of control or wicket-taking threat. This deficiency could prove costly on subcontinental pitches that often aid slow bowlers.

Opportunity: The bowling attack, however, carries immense firepower in the pace department. Jofra Archer’s return, alongside the likes of Mark Wood, Gus Atkinson, Brydon Carse and Saqib Mahmood, provides England with a varied and menacing arsenal. Each of these pacers brings a different strength – Archer’s raw pace and accuracy, Wood’s express speed, Atkinson’s skiddy bounce, and Carse’s versatility as a seam-bowling all-rounder.

If these quicks find a rhythm, they can trouble the best batting line-ups. Yet, England’s biggest concern remains their bowling economy. Since the 2023 World Cup, they have conceded 6.41 runs per over on average, the worst among all teams in this period. This vulnerability was evident in their recent ODI series defeats against India (3-0), where opposition batters capitalised on England’s lack of control in the middle overs.

The absence of Ben Stokes and Sam Curran further complicates matters. Stokes, England’s talisman in high-pressure situations, has opted out to focus on his Test career, leaving a void in both leadership and middle-order stability. Curran, on the other hand, has seen his stock fall due to inconsistent performances with the ball, leading to his omission. Their absences mean England lack a left-handed middle-order batter, which could affect their flexibility against match-ups, and a left-arm seamer, limiting the variety in their attack. Jamie Overton and Brydon Carse will have to step up as seam-bowling all-rounders to fill the void left by Stokes and Curran.

Threat: Despite these challenges, the Champions Trophy presents England with a golden opportunity to rewrite history. It offers them the chance to overcome their spin vulnerabilities, refine their bowling execution, and embrace McCullum’s aggressive brand of cricket.

The “Bazball” philosophy, which revolutionised England’s Test cricket, is expected to make its way into their white-ball setup, encouraging fearless cricket even in challenging conditions. If executed well, this approach could unsettle opposition teams and give England the edge in close encounters.

England’s campaign for their maiden Champions Trophy title will kick off on February 22, against Australia in Lahore. Then they will face Afghanistan on February 26 at the same venue and in the last league match they will face South Africa in Karachi on March 1.

England squad: Jos Buttler (c), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Tom Banton, Harry Brook, Brydon Carse, Ben Duckett, Jamie Overton, Jamie Smith, Liam Livingstone, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Saqib Mahmood, Phil Salt, Mark Wood.