Entertainment or ruthlessness? Flair or focus? These are the questions swirling around English cricket as a transformative year draws to a close. Under the adventurous leadership of captain Ben Stokes and coach Brendon McCullum, a once-struggling Test team has rediscovered its roar, playing a brand of fearless, attacking cricket that has thrilled fans and rejuvenated the sport’s oldest format.
Yet for all the accolades earned by “Bazball” – the unofficial tagline for England’s bold new approach – doubts linger over whether cavalier cricket alone can carry them back to the top of the world rankings. A chastening defeat to end their tour of New Zealand offered a stark reminder that even this talented squad has an Achilles’ heel. Namely, that their all-out aggression can spill into recklessness, with batting collapses and weary bowlers the price paid for uncompromising attack.
As preparations begin for a defining 2025 featuring back-to-back Ashes and a World Test Championship tilt, England must confront an uncomfortable truth: to become the best, ruthlessness is required alongside entertainment. The free-spirited approach that has served them so well contains the seeds of their downfall against clinical, top-class opponents.
Bazball’s Achilles Heel
England’s transformation under Stokes and McCullum has been revelatory. Freed from fear of failure, gifted players like Joe Root, Jonny Bairstow and the emerging Harry Brook have produced some of the most exhilarating Test innings in memory. Chasing down record totals has become a habit, not a hope.
We want to play a brand of cricket that ignites the fans, Test cricket that’s positive, fun to watch and gets people through the gates.
England coach Brendon McCullum
Yet that same sense of adventure has often bordered on abandon. Repeatedly this winter, dominant positions have slipped through cavalier fingers. In the first Test in Pakistan, a 2am declaration hinted at naivety. Against New Zealand, kamikaze batting turned a breezy win into a gut-wrenching loss, with first-innings slogs setting the stage for fourth-day collapse.
There remains a fragility at the heart of this England project, with a boom-or-bust batting order glaringly short of adhesive qualities. Should the explosive starts of Zak Crawley or Ben Duckett misfire, an underpowered middle order looks ill-equipped to dig in and rebuild. Bazball’s devotion to attack is commendable, but over long series against high-class attacks, adaptability is king.
The Ruthless Edge
For England to take the final step from crowd-pleasers to champions, a ruthless streak is required. Not a dour descent into attrition, but an inner steel to match the outer sparkle; an ability to grab games by the throat and not let go.
Perhaps here they can learn from the great Australian and West Indian sides of yore, who combined swashbuckling strokeplay with merciless precision. Stokes may shudder at the word ruthless, but there’s no escaping that the game’s annals are littered with tough, unsentimental winners.
Sometimes I feel this England team can’t take two steps forward without doing something that makes me think they’ve gone backwards.
Former England batsman Mark Ramprakash
This needn’t come at the expense of flair, nor of the welcoming environment Stokes has cultivated. But an injection of cut-throat focus, of that ‘3-0 mentality’, could be the differentiator between gallant triers and true world-beaters. A setup where no one’s place is safe from the need to contribute, under pressure, when it matters most.
The Road Ahead
As a new year dawns, England have much to be proud of. Against the odds, they’ve made Test cricket compelling again, reconnecting with fans and reasserting the primacy of cricket’s oldest dance. In Ben Stokes, they have an inspirational captain, and in Brendon McCullum, an alchemist coach brewing an intoxicating brand.
But to turn promise into prizes, evolution is needed. Not a retreat into conservatism, but a rounding out of their approach; a tempering of fire with ice to cope with the sport’s long-form rigors. If Stokes can find a way to marry England’s newfound boldness with a steelier edge, the world may soon be at their feet. Entertainment AND ruthlessness – therein lies the path to the summit.
