In the third Test against India at Lord’s, former India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin shared the same surprise as many cricket fans when the England team seemed to ditch ‘BazBall’ for something else, which he jokingly called ‘PrankBall.’
Ashwin, familiar with various England teams over the years, didn’t understand Ben Stokes’ team’s strategy. He noticed their batters became very cautious against India on the first day of the match. In a video on his YouTube channel, Ashwin said England was ‘betraying everyone’ by acting against their usual cricket style.
It was a great day, for England, maybe not so much for those wanting aggressive Bazball, Ashwin commented. Everyone thought England would stick with Bazball, but they surprised everyone by playing Prankball instead. They usually score at a rate of 4 to 4.5 runs per over, but today was different. England only scored at three runs per over. I’ve said before that Joe Root scoring runs is important for the team. His innings taught everyone how Test cricket should be played. Root is back in good form.
Ben Stokes had previously compared the Edgbaston pitch in the second Test to pitches in the sub-continent. Ashwin felt that the Lord’s surface was also alike to Indian wickets.
Looking at this pitch, it has some sub-continent characteristics, Ashwin explained. The ball usually softens after 60 overs. Ravindra Jadeja had a ball hit Joe Root’s bat very low. This happening on Day 1 at Lord’s is very different from what you usually expect in England. The uneven bounce at Lord’s was always a worry. We saw that when Nitish Reddy took two wickets and troubled Ben Stokes for a moment.
Ashwin believes India could get ahead if they can keep England’s score below 350.
There’s inconsistent bounce and changing pace on the pitch, Ashwin added. If I were India, I would tell the bowlers to get them out early in the first session tomorrow. Can they keep England under 350? The longer England bats, the more unpredictable the surface will become.