There were moments during the Ashes when it appeared ‘Bazball’ – the popularly coined aggressive style of cricket England’s Test team plays, doubling as something like a way of life for them – was about to be buried by a disciplined and veteran Australia.
With a 2-0 lead, having capitalized on a reckless England seemingly drinking their own bath water, Australia appeared set to win the Ashes outright in the third Test and break a two-decade curse in the U.K.
The obits on ‘Bazball’ were about to be written as a big Ashes loss on home soil – a much-hyped series that defines eras for the rivals – would have put the polarizing approach under the microscope.
But England held their nerve to claim a thriller in Headingley before the very best of ‘Bazball’ was unleashed during the final two Tests, dominating a…