Why England score so quickly: it is not just Bazball's attacking intent

Times

7 hours ago

This England team are normalising stuff that is simply not normal. After ten minutes of play on the third morning they had lost the prized wickets of Joe Root and Ben Stokes in two balls, and were tottering at 84 for five, still 503 in arrears. Yet their sixth-wicket pair proceeded to thrash 165 from the next 152 balls up to lunch.
It was extraordinary to watch, yet not surprising because we have seen them play like this so often during the past three years. They scored more than 500 runs on the opening day in Rawalpindi in 2022 and almost did so again against Zimbabwe in May. Two weeks ago they scored more than 350 runs on the last day to beat India in the opening match of this series.
Jamie Smith, the dominant partner in the stand with Harry Brook, raced to the fourth-fastest Test century scored for England in 80 balls; in broad historical terms this is exceptional but, again, not particularly remarkable for this team.
Since Ben Stokes became captain, five other players, apart from Smith, have scored hundreds in 90 balls or fewer: Jonny Bairstow, Brook, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett and Ollie Pope.
The adventurous Bazball mentality tends to dominate conversations about why this team play the way they do, but there is actually more than simply a devil-may-care attitude as to why England are able to score so fast and challenge many of the sport's most revered records. In fact, the Bazball approach would probably not be possible without various other factors being at play.
First, and perhaps most importantly, Test pitches in England have become very good for batting. The days when English pitches were tinged with green and guaranteed rich pickings for Stuart Broad and James Anderson are long gone.
Now, England want their pitches to be true so that their powerful batting line-up can trust their stroke-play; the less the ball nips around the better. Since June 2022 more Test centuries have been scored in England than any other country, and runs have come faster here than elsewhere. Pitches are better than in India, where they spin, or Australia, where they are greener and spicier.
Pitches tend to last the distance too, hence England being happy at home to bat last and chase big scores. This Edgbaston surface shows few signs of deterioration.
England's batsmen have cashed in when they have got the chance overseas, as they did last winter in Pakistan and New Zealand in the three games they won. Pakistan's pivot to raging bunsens after being crushed by Brook and Root in the first Test in Multan was a tacit admission that England were simply too formidable on a flat pitch.
Another thing that has had a big impact is the state of outfields, which are faster than they used to be due to better drainage. Big venues cannot afford for play to be stopped because of waterlogged turf; the priority is to get any rain through the top surface as fast as possible so that broadcasters and spectators get the spectacle they paid for.
Whatever the format, batting is king: people want to see runs scored and big shots played. The shorter boundaries we see here at Edgbaston, where they are close to the minimum of 65 yards, feed that narrative, as does the constantly evolving bat technology which allows the modern player to mishit the ball for six.
There is also a broader problem about the quality of international bowling. The crowded schedule, which is under greater strain than ever after the rise of franchise leagues, means that the best players are naturally in high demand, and this is especially true of those X-factor bowlers who have the ability to turn games.
Being in demand inevitably means they spread themselves thin: look at Jasprit Bumrah, who is restricted to three of the five Tests in this series because of concerns about the state of his back. Mohammed Shami, arguably India's best bowler behind Bumrah, was unable to make the tour owing to injury. Cricket's crazy calendar benefits batsmen far more than bowlers.
The best batsmen are also adept at incorporating into their Test repertoire shots learnt in short-format games. This ability to manufacture shots all around the wicket gives them a big advantage and leaves fielding captains wishing they had 13 fielders to properly protect both sides of the wicket. They have an almost impossible task on good pitches.
What should not be ignored, though, is that England do possess a formidable top seven. Duckett and Brook are among the fastest scorers Test cricket has ever had, Root is a modern master and Smith a formidable attacking force.
They will not always come off — and they have some work to do in Birmingham if they are to retain their lead going to Lord's after some careless batting on Thursday night — but when they do they are capable of genuinely astonishing things.