THE OVAL — The final day of this wonderful series against India provided more high drama in Bazball’s theatre of the absurd.
But having let a 2-1 lead slip, it is as clear as ever that England are a team who deliver great moments rather than a great team.
In the TikTok age where captivating content is king, the Bazballers tick every box.
The stated mission goal when head coach Brendon McCullum and captain Ben Stokes kick-started England’s Test revolution three years ago was to try to revive the ailing popularity of Test cricket.
They have completed that goal successfully, with this thrilling denouement joining the Heist of Hyderabad last year, the one-run defeat in Wellington in 2023 and this year’s chase of 371 in the first Test against India at Headingley in the Bazball hall of fame.
"As good a five-match series I've ever been a part of or witnessed" England head coach Brendon McCullum sums up the EPIC series between England and India pic.twitter.com/xkiVdYjotz
— Sky Sports Cricket (@SkyCricket) August 4, 2025You could probably name at least half a dozen other matches that also qualify. That is how entertaining this team are.
Yet the big problem is that despite all this, England have not won a five-Test series since 2018.
That predates Bazball, but this group have failed in three series against the two biggest teams in world cricket.
The 4-1 defeat in India last year was expected, yet this team having now failed to win two home series against the big two is damning.
In the 2023 Ashes, the Bazballers stormed back from 2-0 down to draw the series 2-2 and probably would have ended up winning it, had the fourth Test at Old Trafford not been ruined by rain.
However, they also let big moments slip in that series, notably in an epic first Test at Edgbaston that Australia won by two wickets.
That is a big problem ahead of this winter’s Ashes, where the profligacy shown in failing to punish India will be highlighted even more ruthlessly.
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Given the circumstances, it is hard to criticise England too much for failing to get over the line here.
Missing Stokes through injury and then a bowler down after day one when Chris Woakes dislocated his shoulder, they showed copious amounts of grit, character and skill to get themselves into a position where the gargantuan chase of 374 was on.
Much of that was down to the 195-run partnership between Joe Root and Harry Brook.
Brook’s audacious innings of 111 was the spark that had seemingly turned this Test – and the series – inexorably in England’s favour.
But the nature of the dismissal, caught charging Akash Deep, let India back in at a time when they looked beaten.
Stokes refused to criticise Brook but the player himself admitted: “I wish I didn’t play that shot.”
The verdict of England’s 2005 Ashes-winning captain Michael Vaughan was clear.
“What Harry needs to learn is in an Ashes series, in a similar situation, just win,” he said.
“I love the way he plays, his approach. At times, he’s a genius. He plays the game in a fashion not many have ever played.
“I don’t want to take away from his positivity and flamboyance. But in Sydney, if England are 2-1 up, dig in Harry.”
That England were even in that situation was a miracle given they had dropped six catches in India’s second innings.
This is another area that needs addressing urgently ahead of the Ashes given England’s drop total for the series stands at 20.
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The two that spared Shubman Gill and Ravindra Jadeja during India’s second innings in Manchester were perhaps the costliest.
For all the talk of England blowing it at The Oval, the truth is they should have headed to south London 3-1 up.
Having established a 311-run first-innings lead in that fourth Test at Old Trafford, England had India 0 for 2 at the start of their second innings.
Despite a moribund pitch, more ruthless teams, say Australia, would have driven home that advantage.
The fact England lost at The Oval should not have been a surprise either given that in the five series they played last year, they lost four of the five final Tests.
England rotated their bowling attack heavily, even without Stokes.
With the captain fully fit and Jofra Archer, Brydon Carse and, fingers crossed, Mark Wood available for selection, it should be a very different team that takes the field for the first Test in Perth on 21 November.
Their ability to consistently seize winning moments, though, will come under its sternest examination yet.
Sir Alastair Cook, the last England captain to win an away Ashes series in 2010-11, believes the Bazballers will be stronger for their experiences against India this summer.
“Winning crucial moments and getting into a position to win a game – the feeling England have now will drive them on,” he said.
The fans who travel Down Under this winter for a series that will define the whole Bazball project, will certainly hope that is the case.
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