"Bazball was a failure" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott after England's defeat in IND vs ENG 2nd Test

Former England opening batter Sir Geoffrey Boycott has declared Bazball as a failure after Ben Stokes and Co. suffered a loss in the second Test against India in Vishakhapatnam. Boycott reckons England's high-risk approach will not bring success all the time.

Chasing 399 for victory, England's batters played aggressively from the outset, shaving off 67 runs of them at Stumps on Day 3. However, the tourists' middle-order batters could not step up the way they would've liked on Day 4. The Englishmen eventually folded for 292, enabling India to level the series 1-1.

In his column for The Telegraph, Boycott explained that there is no glory in defeat and that England threw away a match which they could have won.

"Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes are besotted with attack, attack, attack. It’s as if they say ‘If we can’t win, we will go down in glorious failure instead.’ But there is no glory in failure or defeat," he wrote.

"Bazball is great entertainment when it comes off. But once you believe in an ideal over substance then you have lost the plot. Today England gave the match away. Bazball was a failure."

The 108-Test veteran claimed that England failed to learn their lessons from the 2023 Ashes, which ended 2-2, elaborating:

"You would have thought England had learned from giving away the Ashes last summer. The ‘gung ho’ batting at Edgbaston and Lord’s gave two Tests matches away. Runs win Test matches, not style."

Opener Zak Crawley was England's best batter in both innings as he scored a pair of 70s. While Crawley did not convert those into three figures, the Kent batter failed to find support from his teammates in either innings.

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"Batting has always been about being able to adapt to the circumstances" - Sir Geoffrey Boycott

Zak Crawley has been England's best batter in the series. (Credits: Getty)

Boycott highlighted the need for at least one batter to make a big hundred when chasing 399 and feels England must understand when to attack and when to defend. He added:

"The best way to achieve a total of nearly 400 is by one of the batsmen scoring a big hundred. Looking to go after good bowlers and score quickly comes with risk. But why can’t our team play positively and with common sense?

"Batting has always been about being able to adapt to the circumstances, whether that is conditions or the opponents. Pick your moments when to attack and defend. If a particular bowler is in a good spell then just stay in and get through it."

The series is now level at 1-1, with the third Test set to begin on February 15 in Rajkot.