1st Ashes Test England v Australia June 16-20 1930hrs @ Edgbaston
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- May 14, 2017
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I recommend this; it's a very good read:
www.theguardian.com
It asks the question: why is Bazball so popular?
Many posters in here have commented on the cult-like aspects coming out of the Pommie camp about the Edgbaston loss.
They are right:
" ... the real reason for this [popularity] is that Bazball is a cult, and cults are very attractive. This isn’t a joke, or even a criticism. Cults happen all the time. There are established patterns of cult-ism that are simply hard-wired into group behaviour. A few years ago Rick Ross, executive director of the Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements, wrote an article in the Guardian identifying 10 tell-tale cult signs, the most obvious part of which is “a charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship”, all the more so “as the general principles that have originally sustained the group lose power”.
Well, we’ve got one of those. “The way that we played has validated our style of play,” Brendon McCullum told reporters this week. The thrust is clear. Bazball doesn’t lose. Bazball always wins, or rather wins in ways that sail above the mundanity of your value systems, your win and loss columns. It already feels a bit gauche, a bit passé and suburban even to call Edgbaston a defeat."
(my bold emphasis)
Please stop and think about "The way that we played has validated our style of play" which is to say "Our style of play has validated our style of play".
It's meaningless, of course, but is seductive to the gullible.
The string of losses that England suffered (before Bazball) had crushed their spirit and made their players and Administration bleak and desperate.
Those who are drowning clutch at straws and a system that says you win even when you lose is a Lifebuoy that England has embraced desperately. Throw in some very good wins (until last week) and Bazball has not just saved English Cricket but created an irresistible tsunami of blind belief and unquestioning-but-ridiculous fall-out which says that winning is not only not important, well, except when you win, but also that a loss can be a win --- if you think/believe it is. After that you go forward, trying 100% to win the next battle, but rationalising that to absurd levels if you lose.
I've never seen anything like it in International sport, let alone Ashes Cricket.
I hope like Hell the Aussies put a stop to this ridiculous, doublethinking cult, win the Ashes, and expose Bazball for the mirage it is.
Bazball: a cult of bruised masculinity where you win even if you lose | Barney Ronay
England are either brainwashed, or brilliant, or both in a team where negative talk is passé even if you have just been beaten
Many posters in here have commented on the cult-like aspects coming out of the Pommie camp about the Edgbaston loss.
They are right:
" ... the real reason for this [popularity] is that Bazball is a cult, and cults are very attractive. This isn’t a joke, or even a criticism. Cults happen all the time. There are established patterns of cult-ism that are simply hard-wired into group behaviour. A few years ago Rick Ross, executive director of the Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements, wrote an article in the Guardian identifying 10 tell-tale cult signs, the most obvious part of which is “a charismatic leader, who increasingly becomes an object of worship”, all the more so “as the general principles that have originally sustained the group lose power”.
Well, we’ve got one of those. “The way that we played has validated our style of play,” Brendon McCullum told reporters this week. The thrust is clear. Bazball doesn’t lose. Bazball always wins, or rather wins in ways that sail above the mundanity of your value systems, your win and loss columns. It already feels a bit gauche, a bit passé and suburban even to call Edgbaston a defeat."
(my bold emphasis)
Please stop and think about "The way that we played has validated our style of play" which is to say "Our style of play has validated our style of play".
It's meaningless, of course, but is seductive to the gullible.
The string of losses that England suffered (before Bazball) had crushed their spirit and made their players and Administration bleak and desperate.
Those who are drowning clutch at straws and a system that says you win even when you lose is a Lifebuoy that England has embraced desperately. Throw in some very good wins (until last week) and Bazball has not just saved English Cricket but created an irresistible tsunami of blind belief and unquestioning-but-ridiculous fall-out which says that winning is not only not important, well, except when you win, but also that a loss can be a win --- if you think/believe it is. After that you go forward, trying 100% to win the next battle, but rationalising that to absurd levels if you lose.
I've never seen anything like it in International sport, let alone Ashes Cricket.
I hope like Hell the Aussies put a stop to this ridiculous, doublethinking cult, win the Ashes, and expose Bazball for the mirage it is.
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Gold.
to1994
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If I was giving the benefit of the doubt, for a long time they've had the problem of having lots of middle order batsmen to choose from, but no top order bats.
It's the reason Root had to bat at 3 at different stages of his career, Bairstow was also tried at some point but it didn't go well. Ollie Pope batted down the order for his County but they eventually gave him a go at 3 and the stats at least suggest it's paying off.
That's the challenge with Foakes, I do think if there was a middle order spot available, despite the Bazball cult, they would of played Bairstow as a pure bat. There's logic in them not wanting to repeat a failed experiment of moving Bairstow to open to accommodate Foakes though that logic started to fall away with his latest wicket keeping performance.
Given Stokes has a good defense I'm on board with dropping Crawley and moving Stokes to open, that may actually have happened if it wasn't for Crawley's 60. His 60 is the problem with keeping poor performing players in the team too long, eventually they will hit a score, it'll buy them a few more games but you'll have wasted another 5+ Tests worth of development for a more deserving player.
philreich
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Has anyone in the England camp actually mouthed the words, "Well played Australia"? If so, I must have missed it. It's been all about how wonderful Bazball is, and how it's revived English cricket. It's almost as if the Poms don't actually have an opponent this summer - it's all about them.
Trouble in paradise?
Might be getting a little more than the 15 degrees with those bowling actions
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As long as they play Crawley, they're batting one short.How I would line up if I was in charge of England.
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So does Slogger Brook
Around the Wicket
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a leggie won't go too well on a road imo.
Lifted from these very pages....MSM always so slow
They don’t want Root to have to bowl 30 overs though. He’s the best batsman they have by a mile.
Hookes was given enough chances, and he proved to be an exceptional First Class batter, who wasn’t up to Test standard unfortunately.
The selectors even told him how he needed to improve to make the step up (improve the array of shots he has, patience) but he was unable to do this.
grumbleguts
User name to post ratio checks out
You might have wanted to actually watch him. Perhaps?
I did. He was an excellent First Class cricketer.
The hands of stone
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The 05 Ashes were great because you had high level competitive games , neither side given an inch , England standing up for the first time in years but an incredible mutual respect between the sides which almost added to the drama of it .
Aussies clearly havent been clean skins in the past but they would always back it up...... Robinson/Crawley reeks of the local cricketer batting 9, not bowling who has a big mouth and thats it .
Ill I have heard is whinging and poor us .
I hope they put up next test , I doubt it and think it'll be 2-0 and pretty much series over .
philreich
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Except this time I want to smash them - I doubt my aging heart could handle another cliffhanger!!!
As I suggested a few pages back - I seriously doubt Robinson of his own volition sat down and penned this nonsense article, he simply agreed to have his name associated with it as he's obviously happy being publicly promoted as the 'Ashes Villain'.
While this may or not be the case one thing is for sure, Robinson is definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed....
Last edited:
- Sep 15, 2011
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Nah, that’s not how these columns work. The player gives the talking points, the journo writes it coherently, the player ticks it off. The ideas came from Robinson. What’s more, the quotes come from Bazball McCullum himself. The journo wouldn’t make that up.As I suggested a few pages back - I seriously doubt Robinson of his own volition sat down and penned this nonsense article, he simply agreed to have his name associated with it as he's obviously happy being publicly promoted as the 'Ashes Villain'.
While this may or not be the case one thing is for sure, Robinson is definitely not the sharpest tool in the shed....
Noted, accordingly this just makes Robinson claims sound even more ridiculous....
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If it's mind games to psych-out the Aussies, it's silly.
The Aussies aren't going to get sucked in; they know who won
.If they really believe the rubbish
that McCullum et al have been spouting, they're in big trouble.Like you said, serious denial; self-delusional.
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Yep the obsession with Crawley is amazing.
Since Stokes was made captain he's averaged 28.2. Very ordinary. But it's worse than that.
The one hundred and one of the 50s was against Pakistan in Rawalpindi where 4 of England's top 5 and 3 of Pakistan's top 4 all made hundreds. So the greatest road of all time. He also got a 50 against Ireland.
Apart from that Pakistan test and the Ireland test he averages 22 since Stokes took over the captaincy.
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After Sobers (who was peerless), David Hookes was the cleanest left-handed hitter/timer of the ball I ever saw, until Gilchrist. Even then, I'd be troubled to say which was better in full flight, although Gilly's record certainly was better.
There's NO doubt he was up to Test standard but the WSC years intervened and the broken jaw severely dented his confidence.
That said, he was argumentative/difficult --- a troubled individual --- and because he was all hand-eye and timing, spinners troubled him.
Watching Hookes when he was on, WOW, he was breathtaking, awesome. Game-changer.
He kicked the door down to Test selection with three sublime Shield tons.
Baz/Stokes would love to have him @ #5, now.
I watched his 5 consecutive fours against Greig, open-mouthed. Looks like Greig gave him a send-off at the end of this:
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