‘Bazball’ is a performance approach devised by England coach Brendan McCullum that centres on England playing with assertive behaviours and with an emphasis on enjoyment.

Historically, I’ve written glowingly about ‘Bazball’…not because of the improvement it’s had on the England team, but because at its heart lies an accumulation of performance philosophies that sport psychologists have written about for years (a bit of professional nepotism for you there!)

So here’s my (respectful) grenade…

https://www.cricconnect.com/profile/1104/dan-abrahams/blog/1236/are-england-being-strategically-reckless-with-bazball

Hey Dan, shhhh, we Aussies don't need Ben and Baz' lads reading this sort of clear, insightful analysis at this point.

I was only making a similar point to my son yesterday as...nowhere near as well articulated, but a similar point nonetheless.

The game in front of players at any one time requires a bespoke set of strategic and tactical actions. The ultimate goal is, after all, to win the match. That is most likely achieved by winning more of the battles each day within the five day war. Sometimes, depending upon the big Mo (momentum) and temporary conditions, ducking and weaving short-pitched bowling is required to scupper the opposition; other times pulling and hooking is the better option. The trick is being able to quickly analyse the scenario, settle on a plan, and get stuck into your work.

Terms like Bazball and the 'Australian Way' are, most usefully associated with an assertive, curious, playful overall approach to the game. But regardless of whatever philosophy your team adopts, you cannot ignore the specific game in front of you at any one time. And that is why the best players and best teams will continue to be those that adapt their game on the go to meet the specific challenges posed. Sticking dogmatically to any one particular set of tactics or strategies might work quite well at lower levels of cricket, but it won't be enough to consistently win Test matches.