England batter Zak Crawley keen to test ‘Bazball’ approach in India next year
England’s Zak Crawley.
| Photo Credit: Reuters
England’s swashbuckling opener Zak Crawley said the five-match series in India offers his team “an amazing opportunity” to test ‘Bazball’ and themselves in different conditions. India will host England for a five-match Test series starting January 25, 2024.
The Test series will be played at Hyderabad, Vizag, Rajkot, Ranchi, and Dharamsala.
“I don’t really know much about their grounds,” Crawley was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.
Crawley stated that England would be venturing into the unknown due to the surprise choice of destinations for the trip, but that they will be prepared for any challenge, whether the ball seams or spins.
“Sometimes in India, it seams and swings a bit – and they’ve got unbelievable seamers – so hopefully there are a couple of pitches there that are like that as well, that will suit us a bit more. But if it’s spinning, I feel like we play spin really well as well. We’ll just have to adapt, see what we get. But they are pretty unknown grounds – I don’t know if they’re going to be triggers like Ahmedabad and Chennai, where we were last time,” Crawley added.
The spotlight will be on England’s ‘Bazball’ tactic, which has evolved with each series against a new opponent. They now face India in their second difficult Test, particularly against spinners like Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, and Axar Patel, who are renowned for their efficacy in Indian conditions.
The series promises to be exciting as England’s bowling squad takes on India’s powerful spin assault in the ultimate Test. Fans and pundits alike are looking forward to the Bazball clash, which promises to be a highly contested and entertaining series.
A compelling Ashes series came to a thrilling climax when England registered a 49-run victory under coach Brendon “Baz” McCullum and captain Ben Stokes over their close rival Australia in the fifth and final Test of a closely fought series at The Oval, with the result meaning the five-match series finished tied at 2-2..