England's absence robs World Test Championship final of 'Bazball' buzz

Two years after losing to New Zealand in the inaugural WTC final in Southampton, India are on the verge of sealing a spot in June's title decider at The Oval.India, who have taken an emphatic 2-0 lead in the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series against Australia, need one more victory to secure their place, while avoiding a 4-0 whitewash would punch a ticket for Pat Cummins and his men.Should either of them fail in their pursuits, only Sri Lanka have an outside chance of gatecrashing the party, but they must triumph 2-0 in New Zealand in March before even dreaming of making the final.

England's mathematical chance of making the final were snuffed out after India hammered Australia inside three days in Nagpur earlier this month.It came just as England, under captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon "Baz" McCullum, were threatening to change the way Test cricket is played with the "Bazball" approach to the longest format.The stunning transformation continued with a comprehensive victory over New Zealand at Tauranga on Sunday, which gave the new captain-coach partnership a 10th win in 11 Tests since they came in and put the emphasis on entertainment over outcome."It's completely unrecognisable," veteran seamer Stuart Broad said at Bay Oval on the eve of the victory on Saturday."It's a bit of a shame there's not a fly-on-the-wall documentary on it because it's amazing to be part of. I'm so lucky to see it first-hand."Honestly, since June, I can't remember a negative word in the dressing room. It's phenomenal to watch how Baz and Stokesy go about their business."Stokes replaced Joe Root as captain in April last year after debacles in Australia and West Indies, which effectively cooked England's WTC goose and prompted the change