Bazball’s Reckoning - Devastating Defeat and Inquest Incoming

“Absolutely” – The word Ben Stokes confidently said in response to a question whether he wanted to continue as the captain of England’s Test team following a devastating, worrying 4-1 defeat in the Ashes series that spanned 2025-2026.

Stokes had just seen his team lose the fifth and final test match by five wickets and prolong the wait for a series win in Australia, a feat that hasn’t been achieved in 15 years.

After a vastly unsuccessful series, the exciting ‘Bazball’ era of the team is under massive scrutiny. Ironically, one of the fundamentals of the cricketing style is to soak up pressure, but be brave enough to put it back on opponents at the earliest chance… something that the management may have to implement off the field in the coming months.

Another fundamental of the style is to have no fear of failure and not to be afraid of risks. Perhaps a change in philosophy is needed and there’s a question as the whether Brendon McCullum is the man to take the team forward.

There are two key areas in which England’s Test Team need to improve. Firstly, the cricketing style and accountability. Secondly, the philosophy around the team and and implementation of a fear of replacement.

Cricketing Style

In the early days of the McCullum and Stokes era, ‘Bazball’ worked. Having won one of their previous 17 tests, the new era saw England win 10 of their first 11.

Under Stokes’s captaincy, there was a change in philosophy which ultimately saw teams essentially taken by surprise. The make-up of the squad changed in a huge way, with new names and faces being thrust into the team. Just three names from Joe Root’s last test team were present in the final Ashes test in Sydney last week. Root himself remained, Stokes and opener, Zak Crawley.

The consideration behind the new faces has been down to their cricketing style. Bazball is all about making runs quickly and taking wickets, not about preservation. It's highly entertaining for fans, who see more boundaries and risky shots than in a more conservative approach; however, this style, of course, comes with flaws and the most recent Ashes series highlighted them massively.

Jamie Smith’s dismissal in the first innings of the final test, followed by Will Jacks’ in the second innings of the same test, highlight the occasional idiocy of the style.

If there’s ever an innings that highlight that Bazball needs to scale back the risks and almost go back to the basics of test cricket, the young Jacob Bethell’s second innings in the final test showed just how effective a sensible innings can be, notching 154 runs from 265 balls with a strike rate of 58.11, he showed that it doesn’t have to be 'all action' on his way to a career high test score.

For context, experienced opener Ben Duckett scored 202 total runs during the series, however, this was spread across 10 innings. The man whom Bethell replaced, Ollie Pope, scored just 125 runs in three tests. Captain, Ben Stokes scored a total of 184 runs, again over 10 innings.

Bethell showed that traditional test cricket doesn’t have to be ‘boring’. Occupying the crease for almost six and a half hours, facing 265 balls, the young #3 entertained fans with a positive outlook on the game. Likewise, Joe Root (finally) got his century in Australia, not once but twice. The second test in Brisbane saw the former England captain score 138* from 206 balls. Along the way, he notched 15 fours and a six. In an innings that mirrored his first century down under, Root scored 160 from 242 balls, again scoring 15 fours in the final test. Root’s strike-rate for his first 100+ knock was 66.99 and the second 66.11.

The adaptation needs to be seen. No longer can we see shots like Smith’s dismissal in the final test become the norm. One of the players of the series, Aussie, Travis Head showed how Bazball should be played. The left-hander made 629 runs, including the innings of the series in Perth. With pressure mounting on the Australian team, Head switched from batting at #5 in the first innings to opening the batting in the second. A rapid 123 from 83 balls saw him score 16 fours and four sixes (88 runs from boundaries alone). With three 100+ scores and a strike-rate of 87.36, Travis Head is Brendan McCullum’s dream player.

Team Philosophy

Accountability and fear of replacement. Two things that, on the outside, appear to be non-apparent within the Stokes and McCullum dressing room.

Accountability is difficult to discuss as we don’t know for sure the inner workings of the dressing room. However, questions must be asked if the players are scrutinised after playing a bad shot, losing their wicket cheaply or consistently being off their length. The book ‘Bazball: The Inside Story of a Test Cricket Revolution’, suggests that there isn't accountability for poor or idiotic shots played, rather constant positives thrown towards players whenever they are dismissed. There’s no doubt that the current era of the England cricket team has a fantastic atmosphere. Each and every player appears to be enjoying playing cricket and relishes the opportunity to play for their team. But should they feel the pressure of losing their place for consistently bad form? This is elite sport after all.

In any other professional team sport, take football, for example, players are allowed an ‘off day’. Consistent ‘off days’ more often than not lead to that player being dropped to the substitutes' bench.

The current crop of England test players appear to be playing with no fear of being dropped and no consequences for poor performances.

From the first test to the final test, there were four changes made. Three of those changes came as a result of injuries to Gus Atkinson, Mark Wood and Jofra Archer. Ollie Pope is the only man who lost his place in the side due to poor form.

As for the opening English pair, there were calls throughout the series to drop either man. Zak Crawley began the series with a double pair, far from his first-ball heroics in the 2023 series, where he cracked the ball for four. 120 runs combined in the next test, followed by a second innings score of 85 in the third test, was just enough to justify keeping him in the side. The manner of his dismissals was what worried fans.

Crawley’s opening partner, Ben Duckett has a dismal series both on and off the field.  With a high score of just 42, Duckett’s apparent inability to simply leave a ball is what, yet again saw his unravelling in this series. His off field drunken antics in Noosa also bought a lot more pressure and eyeballs on both his game and the whole teams’ activities.

Again, however, there seems to be no competition for places. Alex Lees was dropped by Stokes and McCullum due to his pedestrian strike rate of just 43.06. Haseeb Hameed doesn’t seem likely to gain his place back either. Dom Sibley was the top run scorer in Division One of the County Championship last year. The former test cricketer scored 1274 runs at an average of 60.66 and yet, seems to be out of the reckoning. He hasn't been picked under the Stokes and McCullum leadership since being dropped in 2021.

Jacob Bethell will keep Ollie Pope out of the squad in the coming tests, Root, Brook and Stokes will all, of course, keep their places. Jamie Smith is under huge scrutiny after lacklustre performances with the bat and unconvincing work as the wicketkeeper. After a strong series against India in the summer of 2025, Smith had an Ashes to forget.

Potential replacements could see the reliable Ben Foakes return to the squad, although, having been dropped by Stokes and McCullum previously, it seems they don't fancy Foakes. Jordan Cox’s name has been thrown in the hat after missing out on his debut due to injury, however, his inclusion too seems unlikely.

Nathan Gilchrist and Josh Hull are the only two seamers who are likely to break into the test team. Gilchrist took 4/128 against Australia A in Brisbane and has a chance at joining the squad. Hull, who made a surprise debut against Sri Lanka in 2024, hasn’t featured since. He took 3/52 in the first innings and 0/38 in the second. At just 21, Hull will inevitably play for England again, just perhaps not under this management. One of the standout performers for the England team down under saw the emergence of Josh Tongue as a true test player. After a strong showing against India in the summer of 2025, picking up a total of 19 wickets, the most for England, he proved yet again that he's a force to be reckoned with. He picked up 18 wickets during three Ashes tests, including a five-for at the MCG. Tongue will keep his place in the squad and rightfully so.

As for spinners, Rehan Ahmed or the ‘unselectable’ Shoaib Bashir should be backed to be the spinner in the England squad. Choosing part-time spinner, Will Jacks cost England massively. In the Adelaide test, he went 3/212, proving just how costly a decision it was. Ahmed hasn’t played for England’s test team since 2024, however, when he did, he featured in five tests, taking 22 wickets. He also became the youngest debutant to achieve a five-wicket haul in men’s Tests.

Unfortunately for any middle order batters, numbers four, five and six are locked down, at least in the near future. 21 year old Asa Tribe scored 129* against Australia and, like Hull will inevitably play for England soon, but perhaps not in the Bazball era.

Inquest?

Drinking culture, lack of accountability and overall lacklustre performances. Just three of the many things that must be addressed after a woeful series. Regularly throughout BBC’s ‘Test Match Special’ podcast, they referred to it being ‘the hope that kills you’, which is spot on.

It’s worth noting that England didn’t even face Australia’s best side. Josh Hazelwood wasn’t fit for the series, captain Pat Cummins only made a single appearance, Nathan Lyon only featured twice and Steve Smith wasn’t present for the Adelaide test.

The summer saw a lot of positivity ahead of the first test, but, following the inadequate preparation, the notorious Noosa trip and lack of adaptability throughout the five tests saw England limp home.

The trip to Noosa saw heavy drinking and a frankly unprofessional manner for a team who were 2-0 down in the series, coming off the back of back to back eight wicket defeats. Noosa could provide the ultimate noose in which to hang Bazball with… Only time will tell.