England’s Bazball revolution took the sporting world by storm last year, and the high-risk brand of cricket could infiltrate the Sheffield Shield competition this summer.
Head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes successfully overhauled England’s Test side by encouraging batters to play with freedom and back themselves to score every ball. Colloquially dubbed ‘Bazball’, it resulted in faster batting tempos, more entertaining matches, and, most importantly, fewer defeats.
West Australian coach Adam Voges recently warned that his side would consider using elements of England’s aggressive approach during the upcoming Sheffield Shield, which gets underway on Tuesday.
The reigning champions, hunting a third consecutive Sheffield Shield title, have a plethora of white-ball guns at their disposal, including Ashton Turner, Josh Philippe, Hilton Cartwright, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh, Cameron Green, Aaron Hardie, D’Arcy Short and Josh Inglis.
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“I think we’d be remiss to think that (Bazball) is not going to come into domestic cricket in Australia in some form,” Voges told the Willow Talk Cricket Podcast in August.
“Is it sustainable? I guess time will tell.”
Courtesy of the growing relevance of T20 cricket, red-ball cricketers have expanded their arsenal of shots and become better at switching gears. Most of the Sheffield Shield batters have Big Bash League contracts, meaning for two months of every season, they’ll be training specifically for high-tempo batting.
Those skills could translate into first-class cricket if required.
Victoria’s squad has at least three cricketers who could pull off a ‘Bazball’ demolition, according to captain Will Sutherland. Earlier this year, all-rounder Matthew Short confessed Bazball inspired his prolific 2022/23 summer, which included blistering maiden hundreds in the Sheffield Shield and Marsh Cup.
He wasn’t the first, and he won’t be the last.
“That suits my sort of style, I like to be more aggressive and looking to score every ball,” Sutherland told Fox Cricket.
“(Nic Maddison and Short) would certainly relish a Bazball style format … probably not to the extreme of the English guys, but it’s definitely good to see that style of batting could work.”
The Bazball philosophy encourages forcing a result and playing for the win; draws should never be an option. England, for example, have only featured in one draw since McCullum took over as head coach last year, being the recent Ashes washout at Old Trafford.
If Australia’s state teams embraced a similarly proactive mindset, there’d not only be less drawn contests in the Sheffield Shield, but also more entertaining cricket for fans.
The first-class competition’s bonus point system also encourages teams to score at a rapid pace; 0.01 points are awarded for every run over 200 scored during the first 100 overs of their first innings and 0.1 points for each wicket taken during the first 100 overs of their opponent‘s first innings.
Of course, not everyone is equipped with the skills needed to, hypothetically, reverse ramp the first delivery of the day in an Ashes Test match over the slips cordon.
South Australia’s Travis Head, who stunned England during the 2021/22 Ashes with his aggressive style of batting, emphasised that for Bazball to succeed in the Sheffield Shield, teams should outline clear roles for players.
The left-hander, for example, described himself as a “banker” for the Redbacks, someone who can hold the innings together when required, which differs from his counterattacking role in the Test team.
Head identified South Australian recruit Jake Fraser-McGurk as someone who could replicate his Test feats at the Redbacks, discouraging red-ball traditionalists Henry Hunt or Daniel Drew from looking to mimic Bazball.
“It just comes down to who you’ve got in your team,” Head explained.
“If your skillset entails that, and the team dynamic works that way, then yeah I think we’ll see it more.
“But again, you can’t try and manufacture anything.
“It’s just about creating an environment where guys can go out and play the style they want to play, and try and find their best success.”
Sheffield Shield bowlers, particularly the spinners, might need to start preparing for a potential Bazball revolution. Victorian off-spinner Todd Murphy was thrown into the deep end this winter, tasked with bowling at England captain Ben Stokes in the midst of a counterattacking knock at Headingley.
Ahead of the recent Ashes series, Australian veteran Nathan Lyon encouraged his teammates to slog him in the nets, helping him prepare for the forthcoming onslaught. Sheffield Shield tweakers may feel obliged to do the same.
“As cricket evolves, it’s going to become more and more natural for teams to score quicker,” Murphy told Fox Cricket.
“But if you put a full emphasis on it, then it can be quite dangerous. If it doesn’t suit the way the team plays, then they can come unstuck pretty quickly.
“There’s definitely room for it … it just comes down to who you’ve got and how’ll they play.”
Queensland’s Marnus Labuschagne, who felt the full brunt of Bazball this winter, believes Sheffield Shield teams can emulate England’s attacking brand of cricket, but only if every member of the coaching staff was on board with the concept.
“What made it work for England is that they had the backing of the whole ECB … they didn’t make changes to their side according to performance,” Labuschagne explained.
“The hard thing will be when people try and do that and they fail.
“Having that intent I certainly think is something that we all should have. That intent to score, that intent to put pressure on the opposition.
“I definitely think we’ll see more of it.”
The Sheffield Shield season gets underway at Adelaide’s Karen Rolton Oval on Tuesday, with South Australia hosting Queensland.
