Sometimes I wonder why players this Bazball style doesn't suit don't just stick to their own game
Because there isn’t a Bazball style out there really and criticising it for Root’s lack of form seems a bit too far fetched and convenient.
The fundamental philosophy around it seems to be freeing an individual of the worries they may have regarding failure. A traditional coach would have told Duckett that he is supposed to leave the good balls and won’t be picked if he keeps going after nearly every delivery while under Bazball it has been “do what you feel like, buddy”. You pick a bunch of stroke makers and then tell them the same and the result is… hyper aggressive cricket. You wouldn’t get the same with a bunch of stonewallers like Cook and others. Where Bazball does take a stand here is they favour the stroke makers for team selection because they think it helps them win games by taking time out of the equation in winning a test.
When Root is told the same, it’s
he who chooses to indulge in the scoops and dinks. Sure, a coach could pull him aside and tell him by now that he’s better served by being himself but you’ll only get the response from Root that “coach, this is
me”. Forcing him to then revert to whatever he did before could work but it also runs antithetical to what Bazball is all about and I’d rather see Root try to figure out better ways to be creative with his shots than neutered because he’s got the ability to average highly with the bat whilst also looking cool.
I would also point out Stokes once again as the embodiment of Bazball. Saw a comment on social media about how Stokes played overtly aggressive to the point of being a meme at the beginning just to show his teammates to do what works best for them and that they wouldn’t be dropped if they do so and I’m inclined to agree. He’s averaging close to his career strike-rate since the start of last year and his playing style hasn’t really differed apart from the mad phase where he was trying to hack away at everything. You don’t really see people talk about it though because it doesn’t sell as many clicks.