England Return To Pakistan For Bazball 2.0 Sequel As Ashes Nears

England have returned to Pakistan two years after the Bazball revolution enjoyed its first overseas Test campaign. Seizing the day will be top of Ben Stokes’s list again.

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RAWALPINDI, PAKISTAN – DECEMBER 05: Ben Stokes of England celebrates with coach Brendon McCullum … [+] after winning the First Test Match between Pakistan and England at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on December 05, 2022 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) Arne Slot is the first Liverpool manager to win eight out of his first nine games. The honeymoon period continues for the Dutchman, but the sense is that the rocks and stones will always come in sport. Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes know that feeling. Their rewiring of Test cricket was thrilling everyone back in 2022 (apart from a sniffy Australia) when England became the first team to complete a clean sweep in Pakistan and in some style. The 3-0 win made it nine victories out of ten for the new Bazball regime. They were flying and so were cricket balls. Fast forward almost two years – which is a almost a lifetime in McCullum and Stokes speed dial time zones – and England have arrived back in Pakistan for another crack at their hospitable hosts. After their previous triumph was completed in Karachi, Stokes was in a great position to bang the drum for his cinematic vision of Test cricket. “We felt like the cricket that was played was just being celebrated. We came here to win but we also came to play an exciting brand of cricket and get people in to watch. To walk off to a reception like we have at every ground, being the winners over the home team, was very special,” the England skipper said. That statement summed up Stokes’s approach to the whole amphitheatre value of sport. There is no room in England’s camp for a flavorless match of cat and mouse. This team is all in from the start and the time in the middle is marked not by dint of duration, but by boldly going where batsmen have feared to tread. In 2022, England cleared the ropes 89 times, a record for any Test team in a calendar year. So what, if anything, has changed since the megawatt smiles of Stokes and McCullum reverberated around dusk in Pakistan? McCullum is now the fast and loose controller of both red-ball and white-ball teams, so there’s no getting away from the motorized version of professional cricket in all formats. Stokes was unavailable for the series against Sri Lanka after pulling his hamstring during the Hundred. Ollie Pope stepped in like a good lieutenant but doesn’t possess the same gun-slinging gusto. The real captain isn’t fit for the first Test that starts in Multan on October 7. His reduced role, with no bowling alley, is already factored in. The longer worry is that Stokes scoring 155 on one leg isn’t really sustainable. That impressive Test record has taken a few hits since winning virtually every game in futuristic speed warp mode. England lost the first two domestic Ashes Tests through bravado and failing to adjust their mantra against a more street-smart side. They gave New Zealand a way back in to a drawn series at Wellington when a more clinical outfit would have pushed the Kiwis off Mount Cook. Bazball 2.0 has seen a few tweaks and moderations but the messaging is still in bold font. The only tour that derailed the Bazball roadshow was India. Losing four in a row after clinching a thrilling series opener at Hyderabad was galling. As Stokes said after that victory, India are “a beast at home” and so it proved. Australia are going to be a beast from hell. With horns. It is true that players are more convivial with each other after the inception of the IPL, the Hundred, and all the other fraternizing that franchise cricket brings. There’s still that familiar sense of dread that grips an England tour down under since Alastair Cook’s 2013 alumni were annihilated. McCullum and Stokes won’t turn away from the danger. KARACHI, PAKISTAN – DECEMBER 18: Ben Stokes of England hits the ball towards the boundary, as … [+] Mohammad Rizwan of Pakistan watches on during Day Two of the Third Test between Pakistan and England at Karachi National Stadium on December 18, 2022 in Karachi, Pakistan. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images) Pakistan’s unpredictability and talent for disorganised chaos has already been evident. Everything from the late confirmation of the schedule to the eleventh hour deal for broadcasting rights is par for the course. Babar Azam is in no sort of form and has resigned (again) from the white-ball captaincy. Shan Masood showed some signs of leadership in the 3-0 defeat in Australia, but last month’s 2-0 defeat to Bangladesh was another example of a team marooned as they approach Multan. England have retained the top six from 2022 in the form of Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Ollie Pope, Joe Root, Harry Brook and Stokes himself if fit. Jack Leach returns as the bespectacled oracle after a year of injury woes while his county colleague Shoaib Bashir, who made a debut against India in February, has become the number one pick. The 2022 vibe would do very nicely as the schedule will follow the same pattern with the Black Caps waiting to greet England afterwards for two Tests back at the Basin Reserve and then Hamilton. Playing the soft as putty West Indians and a slightly more resilient Sri Lanka this summer did see some progress with Gus Atkinson and Jamie Smith shining. It’s time to see if they have transferable skills in 35 degree subcontinent heat. “Doubt Kills More Dreams Than Failure Ever Will” reads Brendon McCullum’s X tagline. England are not afraid to lose in the pursuit of something bigger. This time next year, an Ashes trip will be a test of the merits of that philosophy. One Community. 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