Description

A TIMES, GUARDIAN, TELEGRAPH AND WATERSTONES BEST SPORT BOOK OF THE YEAR
‘Gripping’ Roger Alton, Sunday Times
The inside story of how England transformed the way Test cricket is played.

For 145 years, Test cricket had been played mainly in one way, but the old ways weren’t working. After one win in 17 by the start of the summer of 2022, England needed something new.

Then came ‘Bazball’, driven by new head coach Brendon (‘Baz’) McCullum and captain Ben Stokes. They embarked on a brand of Test cricket that breathed life into an ailing format, breaking records as they began by winning 11 out 13 games. The once rudderless and ridiculed England Test team soon became cricket’s most talked-about phenomenon.

Told via a mixture of interviews with the protagonists and ringside reporting, Bazball is an unmissable read, marking one of the most thrilling revolutions in any sport. Updated to include England’s challenging tour of India, this new edition looks ahead to the next era of Bazball.

Publisher Review

Two of England’s best cricket journalists tell the gripping story of how England embarked on a new brand of Test cricket — Roger Alton * Sunday Times * Lawrence Booth and Nick Hoult are ideal witnesses to this unfolding drama — Michael Henderson * Spectator * Authoritative . . . a fascinating read, and confirms and enhances the reputations of both its authors — Martin Chandler * Cricketweb * The popular image of Bazball is that it means T20 cricket in the five-day game. The analysis by two of cricket’s most experienced journalists delivers a much more subtle and meaningful definition . . . this is a thoroughly enjoyable read — Richard Lawrence, Association of Cricket Statisticians Entertaining . . . Bazball is not just timely- this summer’s Ashes series plays a major role; there is also impressive context and insight into the main characters * Observer * This excellent account of the Stokes-McCullum revolution is a welcome opportunity to recall the remarkable triumphs enjoyed by the England Test team over the last couple of years — Simon Evans * Choice * Meticulously researched and brilliantly told, this is an excellent Christmas present for any England supporter — George Dobell * Cricketer * For those of us who . . . love the game to distraction, this book will feed and water us. It’s a work of journalism by journalists, to be sure, but done with such thoroughness, style and love for the game that it certainly qualifies as an early history of a revolution in its infancy. Will Bazball endure? I haven’t a clue, but whether it does or not, this book might — Marcus Berkmann * Daily Mail * Bazball is about the radical transformation of the England Test Cricket team by its new coach . . . A much maligned English institution transforming itself to become innovative, exciting, and world-leading? Bazball may have a thing or two to teach the Church of England! * Church Times: Favourite Books of 2023 * Bazball [details] the revolution in English cricket brought about by Brendon McCullum * Telegraph: The Best Sports Books of 2023 * Bazball is a superbly sourced account of how Ben Stokes and Brendon “Baz” McCullum reinvented Test cricket, revving up a 145-year-old format from a stately amble into an intoxicating, risk-taking, headlong sprint . . . Here’s how and why Bazball took conventional cricket wisdom and whacked it out of the ground * The Times : 13 Best Sport Books of 2023 * An enjoyable romp through a purple patch of English cricket that culminates in one of the greatest Ashes series of all time. A winter tonic for the current World Cup blues * Guardian: Best Sport Books of 2023 *