THIS IS BAZBALL

 

Image Credit- NDTV.

Venue- Trent Bridge, Nottingham [June, 2022].

In the summer of 2022, New Zealand Cricket Team toured England to play 3 test matches. The hosts won the first test comfortably at Lords and all eyes were now set in Nottingham. On a batting friendly wicket, England Captain Ben Stokes won the toss and elected to field first. However soon he realized that  it was not the best of decisions as the visitors piled up a massive 553 in their first innings. Daryl Mitchell was the highest run getter for the Kiwis as he scored a brilliant 190 of 318 deliveries. His innings consisted of 23 boundaries and 4 massive sixes. Apart from him Tom Blundell also scored a solid 106 to take his team to a dominant position. Anderson was the leading wicket taker for the hosts as he picked up 3 wickets for 62 runs. 

In response the hosts ended up scoring 539 runs. It is pertinent to note that the English lost their first wicket at the score of 6. However post then they had partnership after partnership which took them close to the Kiwi total. Joe Root scored magnificent 176 of just 211 deliveries. His innings consisted of 26 boundaries and 1 six. Ollie Pope too scored a solid 145 to justify his position in the team. Apart from Root and Pope, Alex Lees and Ben Foakes scored crucial half-centuries for their side. For the Black Caps, Trent Boult picked up 5 wickets.

The surface was batsman friendly even on the 4th and the 5th day as the visitors made an above par score of 284 in the second innings. The Hosts now needed 299 runs to win the game and the series. It was not going to be easy and the task became a herculean one as they were reduced to 93/4. However this is when Jonny Bairstow stepped in. 

Initially Jonny Bairstow was playing slow. But, after the tea interval Bairstow scorched his way to 136 off 92 balls, including 14 fours and seven sixes. The crowd at Trent Bridge went wild. Furthermore his 77-ball hundred was just one ball short of England's 120-year-old record for their quickest Test century. After Bairstow was out, Ben Stokes and Ben Foakes guided their team to victory in Trent Bridge's highest-ever Test chase after 50 overs. With 75 off 70 at the end of the innings, Stokes was still unbeaten. His 179-run partnership with Bairstow for the fifth wicket, off 20.1 overs at 8.87, was the third-fastest century partnership in Tests in terms of run rate. Apart from that this test match also recorded the record of maximum boundaries hit in a test match [249- 225 4s, 24 6s.] 

The English Cricket Team won a test series after 15 long months. The fans were absolutely delighted. For his quick fire 136 Jonny Bairstow was awarded the man of the match award.   But, this was not the end, it was just the beginning of what will be called in coming times- BazBall.

To watch the innings of Joe Root, Click Here.

To watch the innings of Ollie Pope, Click Here.

To watch the innings of Jonny Bairstow, Click Here.