Blunder's, Bazball and Indian Brilliance: A Review of England's Performance in India

England return home from Indian tour with missed opportunities, questions over BazBall but pride in-tact.

Marcus Williamson
22nd March 2024
Source image: Flickr @Geophin

After a gruelling month and half of test cricket, England have come back from India with a 4-1 loss to their name. India once again proved quite how resilient, skilled and consistent they are at home as they pushed on to dominate the series in the absence of some of their biggest names. Yashasvi Jaiswal proved that his is a name you dare not forget in the years to come as he finished the series as top scorer with a colossal 712 runs, while Ravichandran Ashwin proved his enduring class to claim 26 wickets as the series top wicket taker. 

But is it really all doom and gloom for England? The new, previously undiscovered, depth in spin bowling would seem to suggest not. The previously uncapped left-arm orthodox spinner Tom Hartley finished as England’s top wicket taker with 22. Shoaib Bashir also impressed with the ball, taking two five-fors in his debut test series. The headline achievement for English bowling in this series, however, is James Anderson’s 700thtest wicket, the most of any fast bowler. He has silenced the critics after a quiet summer, by his standards, and is now 8 wickets away from Shane Warne in the all-time list of test wicket-takers. Thus continues England’s perennial question; how long can Jimmy keep going? 

With the bat, England had moments of true brilliance, notably Ollie Pope’s incredible 196 in Hyderabad and centuries made by both Ben Duckett and Joe Root. However, the overall story was one of inconsistency with only Zak Crawley averaging above 40 across the series. The normally stella middle order was prone to collapse throughout the series as Johnny Bairstow and Ben Stokes averaged a meagre 23.8 and 19.9 respectively. Bairstow’s performance in particular has prompted comments on his future, as his disappointing winter with the bat contradicts his typical selling point. His reputation for hot and cold wicketkeeping has led many to call for Ben Foakes’ promotion to England’s permanent glove man after a stella performance with gloves in India. While Bairstow’s capacity for excellence is not in question, it will be interesting to see if he is given the opportunity to once again prove this in the longest format. 

But as always, after a sporting stumble, the question of the coach is always asked. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes has sought to rewrite the rule book on test cricket over the past two years. Prioritising entertainment and fan engagement as well as removing the fear of failure has rejuvenated England’s test side, which under the previous regime had only won one test in their last seventeen. Joe Root’s century in Ranchi proved that a more traditional approach to test batting still has its place in England’s current philosophy. Calls to temper the aggression of Bazball have been made by the old guard, while others praise the sheer beauty and gall. 

The answer then may lie in personnel. The influx of young spin bowling talent into the side prompts the question of whether a similar process could be undertaken elsewhere in the order. Alternatively, McCullum and Stokes could simply opt to persist with the current crop. Figures like Anderson and Root stand to show that form is temporary, but class is truly permanent. 

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