No fancy 'Bazball' names for Proteas' brand of cricket: 'It's about being smart'

16.08.2022 - 08:33 news24.com

As the English cricket public raves over the "Bazball" their national team is playing in Test cricket, the Proteas have been going about their business relatively quietly.Keeping things low-key has, to date, worked well for Mark Boucher and his troops, evidenced by the fact that they're sitting pretty at the summit of the ICC World Test Championship table.There's clearly little need to emulate England's extravagant, aggressive yet hugely exciting brand of cricket in the red-ball format, which is named after their new coach Brendon 'Baz' McCullum."I don't think we've given our style of play a name.

I know they have a name for [theirs] over here," Boucher said with a wry smile, ahead of the first of three Tests starting on Wednesday at Lord's. "We believe that we play a nice brand of cricket.

We've had some tight series where we came out on top and nothing has really changed for us. We have processes that we go through to try and get results going our way."I've always said that you need to be smart.

We want to play aggressive cricket, but you have be smart about it. Nothing will change for us. There's always a lot of hype when it comes to England v South Africa, but in the end it's a game between bat and ball."It's about making smart decisions at various stages of the game.

Proteas England Kagiso Rabada Mark Boucher Britain South Africa

Proteas skipper Dean Elgar believes his bowling attack will only improve ahead of Thursday's second Test against England at Old Trafford in Manchester.

2nd Test: England vow to stick with 'Bazball' in bid to level South Africa series

The hosts have arrived at Manchester's Old Trafford 1-0 down in a three-match series following a chastening innings-and-12-run defeat inside three days by the Proteas at Lord's last week. That was their first defeat under the new leadership duo of Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum following a run of four successive wins with an aggressive approach dubbed 'Bazball', characterised by attacking batting that saw England chase down stiff fourth innings targets against New Zealand and India during the past two months. England, however, had no answer to a formidable South Africa pace attack led by Kagiso Rabada at Lord's, where they were dismissed for just 165 and 149 in their two innings, although a lack of domestic red-ball cricket since last month's win over India, was arguably more responsible than 'Bazball' for a clatter of wickets. And a rare double failure by Joe Root meant England have not won a Test when the star batsman has not made a fifty for more than two years.

England vow to stick with 'Bazball' in bid to level South Africa series

England captain Ben Stokes has insisted there will be no let-up in the team's attacking approach as they look to bounce back in the second Test against South Africa starting on Thursday.

PREVIEW - Clash between ‘Bazball’ and South African seamers sets up intriguing showdown

MANCHESTER, England : Despite suffering an innings defeat in the opening match, England do not plan to deviate from their new attacking approach when they host South Africa in the second test at Old Trafford from Thursday.

2nd Test: Clash between 'Bazball' and South African seamers sets up intriguing showdown

England will be hoping the toss and conditions go their way after being on the backfoot from the start of the first Test at Lord's and eventually capitulating inside three days. They were undone by an impressive South African attack with four seamers rolling over the English batting order and spinner Keshav Maharaj taking a couple of wickets at the top of the innings to boot.

Three takeaways from the Proteas' Lord's thrashing of England

On Friday, the Proteas inflicted England's first defeat under a new leadership duo of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum following four successive wins as they won by an innings and 12 runs inside three days at Lords.