Brendon McCullum’s apparent summation of England’s opening Ashes loss as “feeling like a win” has certainly ruffled some feathers in both nations — with ‘Bazball’ even being likened to a cult.
The hosts went down to Australia in a nail-biter at Edgbaston but paceman Ollie Robinson revealed in a column for Wisden England’s confidence in their swashbuckling new approach had not been dented.
“Baz (McCullum) said it after the game, “It feels like we’ve won, lads.” We’ve entertained the world, and we’ve put the Aussies on the back foot. For him to say that after a loss is quite significant for us,” Robinson wrote.
The comments sparked widespread disbelief, with ex-Australian Test skipper Michael Clarke also voicing his confusion on the Big Sports Breakfast on Monday morning.
“To me when you win it feels like you win, when you lose it feels like you lose. If you had have had a draw, then you can think about saying that but you actually lost,” Clarke said.
“…. That’s called the ultimate positivity. It felt like a win when you lost? That’s a different feeling to what I ever remember when we lost.”
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Barney Roney, writing for the The Guardian, went even deeper to draw comparisons between ‘Bazball’ and a cult in an article titled ‘Bazball: A cult of bruised masculinity where you win even if you lose’, Barney Ronay wrote for The Guardian:
“The real reason for (its popularity) is that Bazball is a cult, and cults are very attractive,’” The Guardian’s chief sports writer penned. “This isn’t a joke, or even a criticism. Cults happen all the time. There are established patterns of cult-ism that are simply hard-wired into group behaviour.”
Roney cleverly explained the similarities including that a hallmark of cults was “a charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship”.
“…. Well, we’ve got one of those. :The way that we played has validated our style of play,” Brendon McCullum told reporters this week. The thrust is clear. Bazball doesn’t lose. Bazball always wins, or rather wins in ways that sail above the mundanity of your value systems, your win and loss columns. It already feels a bit gauche, a bit passé and suburban even to call Edgbaston a defeat.
Other classic signs include “Absolute authoritarianism without meaningful accountability”. Or as the seven principles of Bazball put it, a less reflective environment. No negative chat, never challenge the process.”
Roney described comments from England’s players in the wake of the defeat as “strange” and summarised that cricket was witnessing “utterly gripping, high-grade sporting theatre; powered along by warmth, love, feelings, a fraternal sense of doom and, above all, its own delicious contradictions.”
‘NEEDS TO SHOOSH’: CLARKE MESSAGE FOR OUTSPOKEN OLLIE
Clarke also took issue with Robinson over comments made in his column saying he was surpsied “how defensive Australia were and how unwilling they were to go toe-to-toe with us.”
The Test great did not hold back, saying the England quick did not yet have the runs on the board to be so outspoken.
“He needs to shoosh,” Clarke said on the Big Sports Breakfast.
“If England were fully fit you wouldn’t even get a game, Ollie. If Joffra Archer was playing, or if (Chris) Wood had been playing and was fully fit, old mate — I don’t know what town he plays for — he’d be back playing clubbies.
“… I actually don’t know what he’s doing. If James Anderson is saying all this, he’s got street cred. He’s played 180 Test matches , he’s got a lot of wickets. This dude has been around for five minutes.
“… He needs to concentrate on taking wickets .. Ollie, just keep taking five-fors and then you can say what you like.”
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‘ONLY GOING FOR LUNCH’: HEAD’S DIG AT POMS’ ‘NICE CHAT’
Australia batsman Travis Head is unconcerned by England’s “nice chat” ahead of the second Test at Lord’s.
Head’s team are 1-0 up in the five-match contest after a thrilling two-wicket win in the series opener at Edgbaston although for some members of the England side, buoyed by their aggressive ‘Bazball approach, it is as if the defeat has not registered.
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England seamer Ollie Robinson, criticised by Australia greats Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting for his expletive-laden send-off to Usman Khawaja at Edgbaston, spoke this week of his surprise at the tourists’ “defensive” approach and suggested they would need to change to win the series.
And home opener Zak Crawley predicted on Times Radio recently that England would win at Lord’s by 150 runs.
“We’re only going for the lunch (at Lord’s), apparently,” Head jokingly told 9News Sydney. “Yeah, they (England) have got this mantra they’re going at.
“Not just on the field but off the field they are throwing some nice chat out, but this team is truly just worried about what we need to do to win the second Test to go 2-0 up and put some pressure on them.”
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Australia trained at Lord’s on Sunday, where the second Test starts on Wednesday.
One concern for Australia is that star batsmen Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith managed a mere 35 runs combined across four innings at Edgbaston.
Labuschagne also suffered a painful blow to a finger on his right hand while batting in the nets on Saturday.
Meanwhile Ponting, one of the outstanding batsmen of his generation and now working as a broadcaster during the Ashes, said he would be happy to help Labuschagne if the batsman asked him for assistance.
“I would like to catch up with him (Labuschagne) and have a chat about his batting, because I think what I’ve seen over the last couple of weeks, as far as I’m concerned, I think he’s over complicating things a little bit,” Ponting told the ICC Review.
“I think he has to trust and believe in what’s made him the No. 2-ranked Test batsman for the last couple of years and go back to trusting that. I would actually tell him to watch some video of when he’s actually played his best, and remember those things and do that all over again.”