Picture Credit: Twitter
The past 12-13 months have seen England’s aggressive style of batting, especially during the Test matches. The approach goes by the name of ‘Bazball’ and was given the name after Brendon McCullum in spite of his hate for the term, when he took over the Head Coach’s role of England. BazBall was a hot topic during the Ashes 2023. Recently, Pakistan also took on an aggressive-attacking approach against Sri Lanka, which former Pakistan cricketer Shoaib Akhtar named as 'PakBall'.
Just like BazBall, PakBall can also be defined as the aggressive form of cricket, especially in the longest format. Not only this, but a new term ‘DravBall’ also became a talking point after India’s dominance and aggressive style of play against West Indies in the recently concluded Test series, which was reminiscent of Rahul Dravid’s team.
However, PakBall isn’t limited to batting, but also covers fielding and bowling. The Men in Green showcased aggression against their rivals, Sri Lanka, where they put up 145 runs in just 28.3 overs, with a run rate of over 5 runs per over. Not only this, but Pakistan’s attacking approach was evident in their partnership, and a 108-run stand between Shafique and Masood is a prime example of that.
As mentioned, the term isn’t restricted to batting alone, as in Pakistan’s games leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed and fast bowler Naseem Shah were also the ones who shone. The guests managed to restrict the hosts for a modest total of 166 runs.
