Greg Chappell is a former Australian captain. He led Australia in 48 of his 87 Tests, scoring 7,110 runs at an average of 53.86.
Traditionalists look at the 2050 cricket calendar and see the ruins of a civilisation. I see a sport that finally stopped fighting itself.
The end of this era should not cause concern. Australian cricket remains healthy. An exciting crop of young talent is coming through to form the core of the next great Australian teams.
The most difficult period for selectors is when a team is nearing the end of its cycle. It’s time for the Australian selectors to start looking to the future.
Just as mechanical watches survived the quartz revolution, Test cricket can continue to thrive in the age of Twenty20 cricket.
Few of the players involved in the Boxing Day Test put their body on the line, gesturing, laughing and cursing as they departed as if the surface was unplayable. It was appalling.
This doomed English Ashes campaign was the equivalent of preparing to swim the English Channel by doing a few laps of a heated pool.
Brendon McCullum liberated English cricket, but this is the coach’s toughest challenge yet. He doesn’t need to ditch Bazball, but he does need to add responsibility and accountability.
The inability, or refusal, of England’s bowlers to recognise and compete for this sacred patch of real estate has been disastrous.
The mindset behind Bazball – to play bold, positive, and exciting cricket – need not change. It is the fuel that powers this England team.
Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum must decide whether they are prepared to enable continued irresponsibility or whether they will demand the discipline required to compete on Australian soil.