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Follow UsAnthony McGrath made his first-class debut at the age of 19, way back in 1995.
Nearly thirty years later, cricket has not remained the same, all thanks to Bazball, a phenomenon that has nearly shaved off any traditionalist ideology that existed in red-ball cricket.
The risk-reward ratio has changed, and the ethos of how a team should approach the hard toil of red-ball cricket has evolved, with batters increasingly appreciated for their ability to thwart traditionalism.
Over the last two years, Bazball’s effect has not only changed world cricket but also sharply changed the outlook of red-ball cricket at the first-class level back home. McGrath, a veteran at the first-class level, has seen that transitioning happen from close quarters.
“I think that the main change Bazball has brought in is probably the mindset of the players,” McGrath told Cricket.com in a free-wheeling chat.
“England have been quite clear on what players they're going to select. They want batsmen who score quickly to give them more time to bowl the opposition out. And they want bowlers who bowl quickly and skillfully and spinners who try and spin the ball. So I think as a collective, probably the batsmen know they've got to play in a certain way to get selected for England. I think that's been one change.”
Since 2022, when Brendon McCullum joined hands with Ben Stokes to start the revolution, England have held no holds barred with their playing style. Be it in New Zealand, Pakistan, at home against Australia or more recently, against the West Indies, where the style was re-emphasized.
Chasing 82, the England skipper Stokes walked out to open the innings and razored the target off in just 7.2 overs, maintaining a run rate of 11.86, never heard before, even in someone’s wildest dreams. McGrath believes that youngsters would want to mould their game to try and fit in the Bazball culture.
“You saw the other day with England knocking 80-odd off in a few overs. I think it's the way the captain and coach want to play. So if you want to play in that team, you've got to play that way. Otherwise, you're not going to get selected. So you've got to kind of be stubborn in a way and stick to your method and what works. But you've got to try and play the way the team wants,” he adds.
But with Bazball, there has also been criticism of the pitches at the county level, with onlookers complaining about the balance between bat and ball. So, are the pitches at the county level really skewed towards the liking of hard-hitting batsmanship?
“On the pitches, no, I don't think so in England. I mean, because we start in April and finish in September, the conditions are so different. So it depends on what kind of summer we have. And this year has been very wet,” McGrath detailed.
“So, the conditions in April are probably not conducive to Bazball. We did trial the Kookabura, which made a bit of difference. It didn't seam and swing as much as the Duke. That was in the first two weeks.
“But still, in England, it is very different with the conditions and it can change from north to south. So you've still got to adapt your game, and the guys who have been successful in this probably are the smartest players. They know when to put the accelerator down and kind of when to consolidate as well,” the now Essex Director of Cricket added.
However, what still remains integral is how the players can adapt and mould themselves in whatever conditions possible. While Bazball wasn’t successful in India, the very same brand of cricket was an overnight sensation in Pakistan when the Stokes-led side scored 506 on the first day of the first Test in Rawalpindi.
“So yeah, a lot has been made about it in the media. Obviously, we weren't too successful in India, but you know, there was very good cricket in Pakistan. I think the pitches, you're gonna get different pitches wherever you play. I think it's just adapting your style of play wherever you go in the world.”
One of the vital cogs in England’s new uber-aggressive approach is Harry Brook, the new blood. Take a walk around the country at the various stadiums, and there is a good chance that you will overhear someone or the other calling him the ‘all-format superstar’.
While the jury is still out on the last one, it’s clear as daylight that Brook greatly benefited from England’s new cricketing culture. He is a prototype Bazball batter, with no fear and no prize on his wicket. He plays with an attacking intent that is enough to change the course of a Test match within a session.
Since his England debut, Brook has amassed 1378 runs, third-most for an English batter (all while still batting at No.5), with a strike rate of 90.7. In the same time frame, the average strike rate in Test cricket (min 1000 runs) was only 67. But it didn’t come as a surprise, at least for McGrath, who used to travel a bit to watch the ‘special one’ play.
“He [Brook] was always talented. I remember seeing him as a young teenager before I left for Essex. He lives in the local village to me, so I used to go down and watch him play club cricket a little bit. So again, like all young players, professional clubs are all very talented, but I think his rapid rise, particularly in international cricket, has been incredible, really,” McGrath lauded Brook’s talent.
In his first four years at Yorkshire, however, Brook had to not just battle for a place but bat at different positions, starting from opening the innings in 10 first-class games, shuttling between No.3, No.5 and No.6, with an average of just 25.16 across his first 52 innings.
But everything changed in the summer of 2021 when he found his comfort in that No.5 spot, a batting position that he has held on ever since, amassing 3099 runs at a staggering average of 67.37 while striking at a colossal 79, taking county cricket by total storm. McGrath also adds on, stating that the timing of Bazball's takeover couldn’t have come at a more opportune moment for Brook.
“When he came into the Yorkshire team, he tried different positions, like all young players were figuring it out, but once he found a method that's worked for him, and it's probably really good timing with Brendon [McCullum] and Ben [Stokes], he's just gone from strength to strength.”
“Wherever he's gone, he's taken on the challenge, and it's been brilliant to see he's a really good guy from a good family and hopefully he can continue his meteoric rise because it's been really pleasing to see not just the runs he's got but how he's gone about it as well and I'm sure all the fans are entertained by how he bats,” he added on Brook’s rapid rise.
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May 22, 2003, is an iconic day in England’s cricketing history.
Any guesses as to what happened on that day? Of course, England were playing Zimbabwe, but what that Test is more famously known for is James Anderson’s Test debut.
But did you know that McGrath, too, made his debut alongside Anderson? It wasn’t the first time the two had known each other, given McGrath had faced Anderson earlier in a County clash against Lancashire while batting for Yorkshire.
“Yeah, the first time I saw him [Anderson], I played against him was Yorkshire versus Lancashire. He must have only been 18-ish and he bowled very fast back then before his back injury. Myself [McGrath] and Darren Lehman were batting and we both were like, wow, this guy's got some pace, swinging it late. So that was the initial reaction,” he recalled.
No one could have possibly written it down that Anderson was going to make history and make a successful living out of a 21-year-old Test career, where he would go on to scalp 704 victims. While that in itself makes Anderson a living legend, McGrath couldn’t help but point out ‘longevity’ and ‘constant skill upgrade’ as what makes Anderson a true bowling legend.
Read: 1 to 700: James Anderson’s Mount 700 in pictures
“I'd be lying if I said you'd think he'd become one of the best fast bowlers ever because that was like 20-odd years ago, but what he's gone on to do since then is just incredible. And I think what sets him apart is, as I said, when he started, he's raw and fast and he's had back problems and operations, and he's also kind of developed as the years have gone on and transitioned into different types of bowlers,” McGrath lauded Anderson.
“Quick swing, reverse, wobble seam, acing different conditions. So I think to do what he's done, to keep playing as long, the longevity and skill has just been absolutely incredible. And, you know, he's going to be severely missed by England,” he added.
Since he called it quits, McGrath has spent a major part of the last few years working closely with Ryan ten Doeschate, Alastair Cook, and now Tom Westley to nurture young talents. Over the last year and a half, three insanely talented youngsters have emerged out of the county: Charlie Allison, Noah Thain, and Luc Benkenstein.
While Allison and Thain are definitely putting on good displays, all eyes have been on Luc, who has the combination of the most sought-after skillset in T20 cricket: leg-spin, googly, powerful batting, 360-degree game, and top-notch fielding. Like Allison, Luc comes from a cricketing family. His dad, Dale Benkenstein, represented the Proteas in 23 ODIs.
In just 11 T20 appearances, Luc has made a steady impression on the selectors, scoring 156 runs at a strike rate of 158.13 and taking four wickets. So what does McGrath make of the youngsters?
“Yeah, I mean, we've got three under-19 England players, Charlie [Allison], Noah [Thain] and Luc [Benkenstein]. But Luc, yeah, I mean, he got some runs for us yesterday [67 vs Gloucestershire] in the 50-over competition,” he said.
“He [Luc] is an exciting batsman who can bat anywhere in the top order. He bowls leg spin. He's aggressive with his leg spin, bowls a good googly. I know his dad from playing against him, Dale. He was over at Hampshire as a 15, 16-year-old. Things didn't work out there, and we took him to Essex. So we've had him for a couple of years now. He's developed nicely,” McGrath spoke about Luc.
“He's played pretty much all of our T20 campaign, barring one or two games. And just really, really exciting. He can play 360 around the ground. I think he's gonna be a good red-ball batter as well. But with the leg spin, particularly in white ball cricket, everyone's looking for good leg spinners. So he's still young, of course, and we've got to be careful how we blood him and get him in. But again, he's someone who's very smart, works hard.”
Had you told McGrath that cricket was going to be part of the Olympics, he wouldn’t have believed you back then. But now that dream has turned into a reality, with cricket being re-introduced as a sport in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for the first time since 1900. So, what will cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics mean to the sport?
“I think cricket has a place in the Olympics, obviously not for Test cricket. But I think it's really important that cricket is in the Olympics because we want to grow our game, we want to get boys and girls interested, we're competing against other sports,” McGrath said.
“Any window we can get to show how good cricket is to the world is a great opportunity. It's brilliant to see. I'm sure it's going to be a feature going forward. And if we can get as many countries interested outside the Test-playing arena, it can only benefit our game. So hopefully, it goes from strength to strength, whether that's T20 or T10 to fit whatever the Olympics want. But cricket being in the Olympics is a brilliant thing for our sport.”
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