Ex-All Rounder of England Ian Botham claims 'Bazball' brought back fans to Test matches in India
Renowned former all-rounder of England cricket team Ian Botham believes that the adoption of an aggressive 'Bazball' strategy by England, spearheaded by Ben Stokes, has injected a fresh life into Test cricket. Team England are currently on a Test tour of India and registered a win in the opening match of the series before conceding a 107-run loss in the second.
Botham believes that the ‘Bazball’ style of play is also attracting the Indian crowd to Test matches.
Botham said, “You just have to look at the crowds. The crowds are now starting to come back to Test cricket.”
“Playing against India 20–30 years ago in India, the grounds were heaving. Suddenly, the IPL came along, as did one-day cricket, and the crowds plummeted. People are now coming back and wanting to see Bazbal."
Further commenting on ‘Bazball’, Botham insisted that the aggressive approach has reaped rewards for the English team in addition to entertaining the fans.
"You are entertainers at the end of the day, and if you want people to come to the games, you have to entertain. They don’t want to see someone score 1.2 runs per hour; they want to see guys just boss the game.