‘Losing sucks’ – England’s execution to blame at Edgbaston, not Bazball

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Vithushan EhantharajahJune 20, 2023 at 10:56 p.m. ET

Ben Stokes and Zak Crawley react after the former lost a tough chanceAFP/Getty Images

“Losing sucks.” For some English fans, it might be a relief to hear that. A day before that first Test at Edgbaston, Ben Stokes said it wouldn’t be “the end of the world” if the hosts left Edgbaston at a try. They were not “a results-oriented team”, despite having won 11 of the previous 13. Even an Ashes series wouldn’t change that.

Now trailing Australia 1-0, there is plenty of truth to that. Four more tests and enough of that loss, plus what’s been taken in the previous 12 months, may be enough to overturn that score.

But as the England captain attended his post-match press conference, physically and emotionally drained from the events of an engrossing final day, it was clear this was a hard result to swallow. Even with a Kool-Aid mixer, a two-wicket loss to your rivals tastes just as bitter. Like Stokes said, it sucks.

“I know everyone who came out to support us, bought a ticket this week, would have loved to see us win,” Stokes added. “Anyone watching on TV would have loved to see us win.

“We are desperately upset for them that they failed to see England cross the line. game happened in the last hour in particular, I’m not sure what will happen in cricket.”

Dismay at defeat and appreciation for the thrill of the spectacle are not mutually exclusive. But the way England contributed to the latter directly influenced the former. This match went back and forth, as all top Tests do, but until the last fight between Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon, Australia only had the initiative when England handed it over. Most often in slices.

An English team that likes to dangle the carrot ended up presenting the patch. Day one statement on 393 for 8 when a modern Joe Root big sees big on 118 with a capable Ollie Robinson on the other end. Alex Carey’s drops and the missed catch as Usman Khawaja had just four – down to wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow – cost 100 runs over the two innings. Cameron Green’s failed stumping while at zero took him to 38 on day two. All 23 without balls were loose, including one allowing Khawaja to go a century from 112 to 141.

Jonny Bairstow misses a strain of Cameron GreenGetty Images

Was Bazball the problem? Well no.

“Not putting the result on top of everything we think about really helps us go out and play cricket with a free spirit,” Stokes corrected when asked why it hurt so much.

Since 2015, England have not met Australia’s line of sight and forced them to blink with defensive pitches and a slower pace of play. With talk dominated by how the 2005 encounter at this court went with a two-point win the other way, the temptation in hindsight is to view this as the encounter of this series at Lord’s. An Australian victory with lots of English encouragement.

The main takeaways for now will be around better brand execution. A statement that can already be consigned to infamy could have been considered a tactical masterstroke had all four overs on Friday night been rewarded. Then, and certainly now, it feels like an unnecessary risk.

Placed on turgid ground, Root and Harry Brook were right to attack Lyon in the second set. But there were better options than charging for too-short delivery and too-full cross-strike.

Bairstow’s run-a-ball 78 in the first set confirmed the part of his selection that would always be vindicated. Still, he eventually finished late because of the errors behind the stumps. The calculation of his selection as goalkeeper-beater in front of Ben Foakes was judicious. Alas, the variables turned out to be too volatile.

Moeen Ali’s callback out of retirement was exactly as he and history told you: three pearls – two representing number three ranked hitter Travis Head – amid full pitches, long jumps and, at the end from all this, a reopened wound on his right index finger. The low floor of the spinning all-rounder is well known, but his ceiling as an off-spinning red ball is apparently lower than ever.

Moeen Ali suffered a blister on the index finger of his right handVisionhaus/Getty Images

Perhaps most infuriating was limiting Marnus Labuschagne and Steven Smith to 35 points in the game and finishing second. All the plans, effort and intricacies involved in ripping two of the world’s leading Test hitters to pieces, seemingly for nothing. It was a microcosm of the game. England set up the board, decreed various openings and took key pieces, only for Australia to beat them with queens.

There have only been three Bazball defeats out of 14 Tests, but at this point it is worth considering the nourishing qualities of their winners. A byproduct of this sliding door cricket has seen them act as matchmakers for others to have their trysts with fate.

South Africa lived last summer at Lord’s, replicating the celebrations after their first success there in 1994 by draping their country’s flag on the balcony of the away dressing room. Blackcaps wicketkeeper Tom Blundell had the honor of arranging the now traditional limo for the Mount Victoria bowlers to watch the sunrise after the victory in Wellington. The usual champagne and cigars will taste better after a hellish one-round victory.

Cummins now ranks that match number one as his best Test ever, a week after winning the World Test Championship final, no less. And as his team praised him in the locker room as they did in 2019, with the odd player drifting onto the deserted outfield to call his loved ones waking up to the news at home, an already confident tour unfolds. will strut through the rest of the somewhat larger series.

How it all pans out in the court of public opinion will be another matter. An audience at Ashes is as public as it gets, and as much as cricket is easy on the eyes, it’s a downside to believers how easy the game-changing moments were to digest.

The home dressing room, however, remains a haven of ideology. There were no nerves to speak of in the morning. The rains which delayed the start until 2:15 p.m. allowed England to arrive on the ground at 9:50 a.m. more calmly. They killed time with card games, crosswords and even naps. No worries around the required seven wickets against Australia’s need for 174 extra runs. Just anticipation of another great day to come.

That evening, as they sat in the dressing room, hearing Australia’s jubilation, the belief in the process would remain strong even as egos and spirits were bruised. They have the next five days off to calculate the loss before meeting in London for the second test early next week. Stokes’ message was clear – it always works. Even in case of defeat.

“The conversation in the dressing room at the end, even some of our support staff, their kids want England shirts now,” Stokes said. “I got a message from my neighbor saying his son was playing cricket at the weekend and he did what England would do in his situation.

“But don’t misunderstand what I said there. Losing sucks. We always want to win.”

Now trailing 1-0, they have to do it.

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