Did India kill Ben Stokes' and Brendon McCullum's brainchild Bazball? England legend shares honest verdict

England cricket team faced scrutiny over their aggressive playing style, dubbed Bazball, which some critics felt failed in Indian conditions after their crushing 1-4 defeat in the Test series against the Rohit Sharma-led Indian Cricket Team.

This embarrassing Test series loss sparked debates among fans and experts about the effectiveness of England's Bazball approach, with some urging the England Test team to rethink their aggressive style as this approach might not be suitable for the sub-continent conditions.

England played excellent cricket in India: Steve Harmison

However, former England pacer Steve Harmison offered a different perspective, suggesting that Team India's one-sided series win was more a result of their superior skills and smarter decisions under pressure and executing them effectively than a failure of England's Bazball in India.

Harmison has pointed out that the Ben Stokes-led England cricket team posed significant challenges to the Indian cricket team in the Test series earlier this year. However, the commentator noted that there were some critical moments where England's strategy faltered, leading to avoidable collapses that tilted the matches in India's favor.

Steve Harmison was quoted as saying by talkSPORT Cricket: “I thought they (England) played excellent cricket in India. They gave India some real headaches. But then, all of a sudden, when you get to a point that you go, 'oh no, they've done it again'. How many times you see a crash of wickets? That's the problem, where you need to read a room. You can't have everything in an ideal world. The way these red ball players play now, it's far better than what it was in the previous regime.”

Contrary to the notion that India dismantled Bazball, Harmison emphasized that England's approach wasn't entirely flawed but needed refinement and adaptability, especially in challenging conditions like those in India. He highlighted the evolution in red-ball cricket techniques, suggesting that current players are more adept and versatile compared to the last generation.

I don't think India killed Bazball: Steve Harmison

The former England pacer has stressed that India might have outplayed England during the Test series, but there were instances where Stokes and his team pushed the hosts hard, saying they have not easily won the series with that huge margin even at home conditions.

Harmison signed off by saying, “I don't think India killed Bazball. I think India played better cricket in their own backyard. They made smarter decisions under pressure. But I think there were definitely times during those five Test matches where England gave India a real headache. And not many teams have done that to India in India.”

His comments came after England thrashed the West Indies by an innings and 114 runs in the first Test of the ongoing three-match Test series at Lord’s on Friday, July 12. This was James Anderson’s last game for England, and the legendary fast bowler made the occasion memorable by taking four wickets in the match.