Bazball under microscope as England face pink ball demons in second Ashes test

Dec 3 : England's unyielding faith in Bazball will be under scrutiny at a flood-lit Gabba from Thursday as Ben Stokes's side confront their pink ball frailties and the spectre of a 2-0 Ashes deficit to Australia.

After surrendering a dominant position in the eight-wicket defeat in Perth, England need at least a draw in the second test in Brisbane to have genuine hope of contending in the five-match series.

But history and conditions suggest a result is overwhelmingly likely.

All day-night tests, which use a pink ball that shows up better under the lights instead of the typical red, have produced a winner, and England's record under lights offers little comfort. They have lost five of their seven pink-ball matches, including all three against Australia.

The most recent against the hosts was a 146-run hiding in Hobart in the 2021/22 Ashes, a loss that sealed a 4-0 series drubbing and paved the way for the attacking revolution under England coach Brendon "Baz" McCullum and captain Ben Stokes.

Four years on, Bazball is now in the firing line, with former players and pundits decrying the high-risk game on Australia's spicy pitches.

McCullum and Stokes are unmoved, though, believing that changing tack now could only lead to ruin.

"I've got complete trust in the players that we select to go out there with that mentality of being the person who's going to influence the game in the right way for us," Stokes told reporters at the Gabba on Wednesday.

"Sometimes that doesn't always work out that way ... We've taken some lessons from last week."

DAY-NIGHT CREDENTIALS

Bazball or bust, it will take something special for England to win the series from here.

No English side has come back from 1-0 down to claim the urn in Australia since the 1950s