Nuance over bazball, aggression tamed

In the world of easy binaries, the world is divided into two sorts of people - those who are gung-ho, and those who are 'Gunga Din'. The first pertains to folks who are unthinkingly enthusiastic and (over)eager, while the second describes the overthinkingly cautious, docile, even submissive. In this Manichean formulation, cricket, too, is divided into aggressive and passive play. In the aggressive field, England has made a name for itself since last year for its 'bazball' brand of playing. Named after their coach Brendon 'Baz' McCullum, bazball is aggressive play hitched to a mental fearlessness that pushes for victory, no matter what the conditions are. It has reaped the side dividends, with a dramatic roster of victories.

Australia, in our collective minds being the poster boy of aggro 'Lillee-Thomson' cricket, has been far more nuanced, adapting in strategy, tactics and play according to the situation Test cricket, with its cavernous twists and turns, demands. In Birmingham's Edgbaston grounds on Wednesday, Aussie calibrated patience paid off in their remarkable win against England in the first Test of the Ashes. A nose-in-the- ground approach took England's bazball by the baz and furrowed a tantalisingly close, but deserving, victory. In this world of extremes, it seems that the nuanced also have a place and time to shine.