The buzz around ‘Bazball’ intensified following some bold decisions made by Ben Stokes and his team during the first match against Australia. On the opening day itself, England declared their first innings with a solid score of 393/8, and their experienced campaigner Joe Root unbeaten on 118.
However, it was the unusual field placement implemented by Stokes that caught the most attention, leading to the crucial dismissal of Usman Khawaja, who compiled an impressive 141. Stokes strategically set up an umbrella-like field, which ultimately deceived Khawaja into playing a shot that resulted in him being bowled by Ollie Robinson‘s yorker.
While Robinson’s subsequent aggressive send-off to Khawaja also generated excitement, it was the peculiar field placement that remained the primary topic of discussion.
Former Australian captain Allan Border weighed in on the matter, expressing his view that the field placement was like a under-12 cricket stuff. The Aussie legend recognized that such unorthodox field settings have the potential to disrupt a batter’s mindset, adding an element of unpredictability to the game.
“It’s interesting the way England are playing, whether it’s sustainable over the course of the whole Test series, that remains to be seen. It is interesting to see odd field placings and different things going on, the field you might see in under-12s sort of stuff,” said Border during an interview on SEN Breakfast.
“We have got a little ring field with blokes surrounding like 10 meters from the bat. Looks pretty odd definitely, against the norm, but it just plays with your head a little bit. I really enjoyed watching it unfold,” added Border.
Another Australian icon Ricky Ponting also opined that the unconventional field placement had a psychological impact on the Australian batters as even a well-set Khawaja succumbed to the pressure and played an uncharacteristic shot.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen a field like that in Test cricket before. There was just an umbrella of fielders around in-front of the batsman’s face. Khawaja didn’t look like getting out. But suddenly one change in the field and he comes down the track and shows his stumps and gets out, so it’s brilliant captaincy,” Ponting was quoted as saying to Sky Sports.
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