Black Caps get taste of their own medicine

Brendon McCullum doesn't like the term "Bazball". After England's crushing win over his birthplace New Zealand, McCullum will probably dislike it more. But the Bazball revolution continued to roll on as England, under his coaching, won their first Test in New Zealand in 15 years. Captaining the side was Christchurch-born Ben Stokes, nominated for the New Zealander of the year award four years ago.  

New Zealand were on the receiving end when England decided to try and script a turnaround with a fresh approach. But this time it was a different challenge. To win in New Zealand is a difficult task and England know it pretty well. Michael Vaughan was still England's captain when they last won in New Zealand. Also, the last time when England played in the Mount, they lost by an innings and 65 runs.

But this time New Zealand were up against a different side who are determined to win but not afraid of losing. The hosts were without Kyle Jamieson and Matt Henry. It seems like they have moved on from Trent Boult, who is no longer a centrally contracted player. England pounced on a bowling attack consisting of two debutants in Scott Kuggeleijn and Blair Tickner and the waning duo of Tim Southee and Neil Wagner.

These days every England innings creates some sort of a record. Ben Stokes made a daring declaration in Karachi in December last year against Pakistan and here in the Mount, he did what you don't see in Test cricket. England decided to declare on 325 for nine after batting less than 60 overs to have a bowl under the lights. 

Ahead of the Test, Stokes said that at this stage of his career, he doesn't worry too much about his personal achievements. "I'm at a stage now where I would much prefer to leave a mark on other people's careers than look to make mine more established," he said. Stokes urged the counties to take up the Bazball approach in first-class cricket to make the fringe players ready for the international challenge.

Stokes, with the guidance of McCullum, is surely leaving a mark on the careers of others. Ben Duckett was England's one of the best performers in England across formats and won laurels for his remarkable ability to negate spin. But there were doubts about his selection in seaming conditions but the southpaw proved in the first innings that he can take down bowlers in seaming conditions as well. At one stage, Duckett threatened to break Gilbert Jessop's record of fastest Test century by an Englishman. 

Then there is Harry Brook. A few months ago, Stokes stated that he backs Brook to be an all-format superstar like Virat Kohli. When you get this kind of support from your captain at such an early stage of your career, it certainly takes a lot of pressure off your shoulder. Brook continued to be aggressive, smashing two attacking half-centuries in the Test which brought him a player-of-the-match award. 

He could have easily got a hundred in the first innings but going by Stokes and McCullum's philosophy, these players don't really care about milestones. They don't care about getting out as long as the process is right. 

But there are players in the England team who are more of traditional Test batters. Ollie Pope is an aesthetically pleasing batter but his start to the Test career was not as good as he would have liked. He played well but in patches. The consistency was missing. 

McCullum identified where the problem was. Pope recently credited the coach for helping him get rid of his "fear of getting out". Pope has seven fifty-plus scores since McCullum has taken charge. The average (41.31) during this phase is much higher than before and he is getting those runs at a much quicker rate (74.1).

Joe Root was probably the only in-form batter when England were losing matches after matches. For a batter who had scored nearly 10000 Test runs at a strike-rate of just over 50, it was challenging for Root to adapt to the new approach. But the way the senior batter embraced the change has been great. Root still remains their premier batter with an average of 50 and a strike-rate of 75 under McCullum. 

The way all three of them - Root, Brook and Pope - nullified the Neil Wagner threat by hitting his bumpers over the fine leg was extraordinary. This approach, as Tim Southee said, provides opportunities for the bowlers to pick up wickets. But at the same time, it can quickly demoralise a bowler and take the game away in no time. That's what happened to Wagner in the second innings. 

Now what Stokes wanted immediately after taking over as captain was to bring back the veteran duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad. They were dropped for the West Indies tour last year and many thought it would be the end of the iconic duo.

But it's not over until it's over. Anderson and Broad still are two of England's best bowlers and they have once again proved that against New Zealand. Broad was on fire late on day three as he got four New Zealand batters dismissed in quick time, all of them bowled. The one that led to the downfall of the first-innings centurion Tom Blundell was probably the best - sneaking through the gap between the bat and pad and hitting timber.

The next day, his partner-in-crime Anderson did the mopping-up job, getting four wickets for just 18 runs to seal the match. He and Broad are two of England's leading wicket-takers under McCullum with 42 and 34 respectively. The bowling average of Anderson during this phase has been an astonishing 16.2. 

The third name in the wicket chart is Jack Leach, who is not as celebrated as the other England players but has a special bond with captain Stokes. Leach didn't have much success early in his career and was in and out of the side. But Stokes gives him confidence and encourages to always attack. "He'll always have the fielder up and if the batter hits me for a six, he is clapping me," Leach said about Stokes. 

Under Stokes and McCullum, Leach has reinvented himself, taking 33 wickets including two fifers and a ten-wicket haul. 

Now opening woes remain a problem that England are not being able to solve. But they have decided to live with that. McCullum admitted that Zak Crawley doesn't have the skillset to be a consistent batter but on his day "can be a match-winner." England are backing him to play aggressively and not hoping for big contributions from him. Crawley has shown, albeit inconsistently, that he can do the job England want him to.

In the second evening, Crawley started really well against the New Zealand pacers and his short-arm jab off Tickner was one of the shots of the match. He hit six boundaries in his 28 off 39 and stitched a quick 52 off 56 with Duckett. By the time Crawley got out, England were 71 runs ahead in absolutely no time and New Zealand bowlers were already struggling. 

New Zealand captain Southee admitted that they were strategically outplayed by England. The way England countered everything that New Zealand threw at them was commendable. Then again, their coach McCullum knows the New Zealand conditions like the back of his hand. He is in charge of a group that has wholeheartedly welcomed his style. McCullum may dislike the term "Bazball", but England are surely loving it with all their hearts.