"Fundamentally unserious cricketers" - Mark Ramprakash slams England's Bazball approach

Former cricketer Mark Ramprakash criticized the approach of the Ben Stokes-led team in the ongoing five-match Test series in India. Mark Ramprakash questioned whether the “Bazball” approach might be fostering a lack of seriousness among England’s cricket players.

The visiting team suffered one of their biggest defeats in the third Test match at Rajkot. The Three Lions suffered a 434-run loss following their batting collapse in the second innings. This loss resulted in conceding a 2-1 lead to the opposition in the five-match series.

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The Only Goal Is Entertainment – Mark Ramprakash

In his column for The Guardian, Mark Ramprakash questioned Joe Root‘s approach, particularly his dismissal with a reverse sweep in the third Test. He expressed concerns about the England team, highlighting a potential lack of seriousness among young cricketers.

“Does Joe Root reflect on his first-innings dismissal, reverse-ramping the ball straight to slip? Because if the only goal is entertainment then that is absolutely on-brand and they don’t need to put themselves through any recrimination, any learning, any honesty,” Ramprakash wrote in a column for The Guardian.

“Sometimes I wonder if there is something fundamentally unserious about the cricketers we are producing. Many county academies are pushing power hitting. They want young players to have a strike rate of more than 100 even when the pitch and match situation are not necessarily conducive to that,” he added.

England was in a strong position at 224/2 before Joe Root got out while attempting a reverse sweep off Jasprit Bumrah. His dismissal triggered a collapse, with England losing their final eight wickets for 95 runs. They were bowled out for 319, conceding a 126-run lead.

The England team was bowled out for just 122 runs in the second innings. Mark Wood was the leading scorer for the team, scoring 33 runs off 15 balls with the help of six boundaries and a six. Ravindra Jadeja ran through the English lineup, taking five wickets for 41 runs.

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Sometimes They Need To Play Smart Cricket – Mark Ramprakash

Mark Ramprakash expressed optimism that England will adopt a more balanced approach in Ranchi. Ramprakash emphasized the need for England to transition from entertaining cricket to strategic cricket, citing Ben Stokes.

“England are one down with two to play, have just endured a humiliating defeat and they know that on paper the bowling attacks are a complete mismatch. They have played a lot of fun cricket, but sometimes they need to play smart cricket – the kind at which Stokes on his best days has shown he is so gifted,” Ramprakash wrote.

Ahead of the fourth Test in Ranchi, England made adjustments to their bowling unit, bringing in Ollie Robinson and Shoaib Bashir to replace Mark Wood and Rehan Ahmed. Ben Stokes has led the team to victory in 14 out of 21 Tests as captain, with only six losses.

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