England ‘Pominators’ have the chance to change cricket

A cricket revolution has come, reminding some of the great Australian teams of the 2000’s. Could we see one of the great Test series’ in 2023, thanks to Bazball?

Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum’s new style of Test cricket may cause problems for Australia in next year’s Ashes. (Photo by Matthew Lewis/Getty Images)

The question for Australia is no longer whether England will start a cricket revolution – the reality is they already have.

Australia may play the West Indies in Adelaide on Thursday but the entire cricket world is buzzing at England’s extraordinary effort to conjure a hellraising Test win over Pakistan in Rawalpindi where England scored 921 runs off 821 balls in the match.

There is no turning back for England now.

Their entire nation is on board the new daredevil Bazball philosophy honed by new coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes and their team has banked enough credit points to handle days when the engine explodes and the car runs off the road with smoke hissing in all directions.

Next year – do we really have to wait that long? – England will tear headlong into Pat Cummins’ Australians in England like soldiers storming from the trenches.

They will either rip Australia apart or be ripped apart themselves. Or both.

It could be one of the greatest series of the century.

Stokes famously broke Australian hearts in the 3rd Ashes Test in 2019 and will look to do the same across the entire 2023 series under new coach Brendon McCullum. (Photo by Gareth Copley/Getty Images)

“England have a serious chance to change the way Test match cricket is played,’’ former Test fast man Damien Fleming said at this weeks’ BBL SuperCoach launch.

“They have already done it in T20 by batting really deep which helped them to win the T20 World Cup (with Adil Rashid, a 10-time first class century maker, at No 11).

“They did it in 50 over cricket in 2019 … bat all the way down. To be a true originator and dominator in sport you have to go where no other team has gone before. To play like England you need to have the cattle. But Stokes and McCullum have changed things. For an Ashes series coming up … wow.’’

The remarkable thing about England’s revival is they left Australia last summer a broken team after a period when they won just two of their previous 16 Tests. 

England were resoundingly beaten 4-0 in the 2021/22 Ashes in Australia. (Photo by William WEST / AFP) /

Their win against Pakistan in Rawalpindi is their sixth win from seven matches since.

Fleming sees echoes of Australia’s turn-of-the-century Test team when new coach John Buchanan won his first 16 Tests in charge after challenging Australia to push their potential to the nth degree as dressing room signs urging the team to become the new Invincibles.

“I was part of that Buchanan coached team, The Dominators, for a couple of years and it was a conscious thing for us to set more aggressive fields and try and score more quickly,’’ he said.

“They had five years of dominance but what happens is the opposition starts to take on bits of that. That team created a great legacy. I think England will inspire teams to play more aggressively. The only thing is you must have the cattle.

“Stokes and McCullum have changed things. For an Ashes coming up … wow.’’

Mike Hussey, who helped coach England to their T20 World Cup success, has revealed that for all of Stokes incredible adventure as a skipper, he is shy off the field.

“He was a funny one,’’ Hussey said.

“He is obviously an enormous talent but he was the one who took me the longest to break down the barriers and build the relationship and trust. There is a shyness and a reserved side to him.’’

Originally published as England ‘Pominators’ have the chance to change cricket