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A series · 5 parts

Bazball

How England tried to save Test cricket by attacking it — the rescue, the idea behind it, the failures, and whether anyone else could ever copy it.

In early 2022, England had won one of their previous 17 Test matches, scoring at under three runs an over, and a format they once led was starting — at home — to feel like it was being switched off. Eighteen months later they were the most watched and most argued-about side in the world, with much the same players. What changed was one thing only: how they played. They chose to attack a five-day game as though it were a sprint.

This series follows that gamble — named Bazball, after Brendon McCullum, the coach who lit it. You'll see how the rescue actually worked, why a side would bat in such a hurry, and where the method broke down: the tours abroad where fearlessness ran into conditions it couldn't bully. Underneath sits the harder question — was this a repeatable idea about how to play Test cricket, or a one-off that needed two particular men? By the end you'll be able to judge the argument for yourself.

  1. 01

    The Rescue

    In early 2022 England had the worst Test team in living memory, and had stopped looking like they wanted to win. This is how it turned around: a rude text message, a coach who had never coached, and a goal bigger than the Ashes.

    11 min read →
  2. 02

    Why England Batted in Such a Hurry

    Ben Stokes retired mid-match at Trent Bridge, burnt out at 35. He leaves behind the most talked-about captaincy in English cricket — and an argument that still isn't settled: what was Bazball really, and did it actually work?

    12 min read →
  3. 03

    Why It Broke Abroad

    At home, England under Stokes were almost unbeatable. Away, they were hammered 4–1 twice. The same approach that thrilled in an English summer kept walking into the same traps — and the critics who saw it coming turned out to be half right.

    10 min read →
  4. 04

    Leadership Without Fear

    Stokes could ask his players to risk failure because he had survived far worse than failure himself. The human story behind Bazball — a court case, a death, a breakdown — and the body that finally gave out.

    11 min read →
  5. 05

    Can Anyone Else Do This?

    Bazball changed English cricket and rippled out to football pitches and boardrooms. But could another country actually copy it — or did it need this exact team, this coach, and a board willing to lose? The honest verdict on four strange, thrilling years.

    10 min read →