10. Oval 2023 vs Australia 

This was the Stuart Broad show. But this was also a proper team performance that encapsulated the fight this side is often criticised for lacking. The Ashes were gone, and at various stages Australia looked like they would secure their first series win on English soil for 22 years. When Ben Stokes bizarrely dropped Steve Smith that seemed a certainty. Yet England never gave up, Moeen Ali and Chris Woakes kept England in the fight before Broad created the kind of theatre few players can and took the final 2 wickets to complete a fairytale ending to a career that is often underrated despite his figures. A proper feel-good win to end a thrilling series.

 

9. Wellington 2024 vs New Zealand

Harry Brook’s 1^st innings 123 at a strike rate of 106 against an impressive pace attack was his best innings up to that point. England’s 280 looked under par, but they blew New Zealand away for 125 and from that point the series was all but won. Gus Atkinson’s hat trick underlined an impressive debut year in test matches, and Joe Root’s century seemed inevitable in the way that Root hundreds seemed to do post-2020. Jacob Bethell was 4 runs away from his maiden first-class century coming in a test match, which would have been the most Bazball thing ever.

 

8. Headingley 2023 vs Australia 

A victory by  3 wickets to keep the Ashes alive might seem a little low on the list, but that is an indication of how many ridiculous victories the Bazball era has produced. Woakes and Wood inspired England with bat and ball, helping to fuel England’s fury after the Bairstow incident at Lords. Ben Stokes’ 1^st innings 80 is perhaps forgotten too easily. England were 131-6 at one stage, before Stokes produced another masterclass at batting with the tail and going through the gears to give England a deficit of only 26 at the halfway point. England’s chase of 254 was nervy, but it says a lot about their achievements in 2022 that it wasn’t much of a surprise.

 

7. Headingley 2025 vs India 

This was Bazball at its most controlled and mature. India were 430-3 in their 1^st innings and 333-4 in their 2^nd, and yet England’s bowlers found a way to rattle through India’s tail on both occasions to keep themselves in the game. Ollie Pope did his classic routine of starting of a series well with a classy century in England’s first reply, but this match belonged to Ben Duckett. His 149 was his best innings for England, as the Bazballers showed respect for Jasprit Bumrah and disdain for the other bowlers. 373 chased down with relative ease. Brutal.

 

6. Trent Bridge 2022 vs New Zealand 

The game where Bazball was born. The pitch was flat, and the game seemed destined for a draw at tea on Day Five. Brendon McCullum had other ideas, instructing his team this game was there for the taking. Jonny Bairstow obliged, smashing the ball to all parts as he chased down both 299 and Gilbert Jessop’s record for the fastest English century. He wasn’t successful with the later, but England’s attacking style of cricket enabled them to win a game that a year previously would have ended in a tame draw.

 

5. Multan 2022 vs Pakistan

Whenever a team wins by 26 runs you can guarantee drama. This was one of those rare occasions where the highest total of the game comes in the 4^th innings. Harry Brook’s love affair with Pakistan was cemented here as he became the only batsman to pass 3 figures. The match was won for England by their seamers: the reverse swing of James Anderson and Ollie Robinson combined with the raw pace and energy of Mark Wood secured England an historic series win Pakistan. Bazball could do no wrong at this stage.

 

4. Edgbaston 2022 vs India 

England’s thrilling chases may have worked against New Zealand, but their brave new approach would be harder to pull off against a team who had largely outplayed England the previous year. Or so we thought. India were brilliant in the first half of this game. But England were full of confidence and led by their captain’s bowling set themselves up for a chase of 378. It could have been worse, but this was still a record amount for England to get. Alex Lees (remember him) set the tone, but the Yorkshire pair of Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow ensured Bazball maintained a 100% winning record as they chased down the target with ease. It’s a shame this was Bairstow’s last hundred for England, because at this point he was the best batsman in the world, and his vital contributions to Bazball shouldn’t be forgotten.

 

3. Multan 2024 vs Pakistan 

The pitch may have been flat. And sure, Harry Brook averaged 93 against Pakistan going into this test match. But conceding over 500 in the first innings and responding with 823 and a triple century by your number 5 is not what normal test match sides do. Going on to win the game by an innings is what this England side do though. Ollie Pope was captain which pushes this into the top 3, because astonishing wins like this are associated with the brilliance of Ben Stokes’s captaincy. Oh yeah Joe Root made his highest test match score in this game as well. Simply incredible.

 

2. Rawalpindi 2022 vs Pakistan 

Ben Stokes best performance as skipper in the field. England scored 500 in a day (seriously!) and Joe Root was the only one of England’s top 5 not to make a century. Pakistan responded to England’s 657 with 579. The script from decades gone by reads that a game like this ends in a bore draw. But Stokes was inventive with his field placings and smart in prioritising seam over spin. England bowled out Pakistan with the dark clouds hovering, and Bazball proved it could win abroad too.  

 

1. Hyderabad 2024 vs India 

Bazball’s greatest victory was achieved through the batting exploits of one of its most divisive figures and the bowling performance of a seemingly forgotten man. Ollie Pope’s 196 was streaky at times, but brilliant in its audacity. He took England from a position of certain defeat to posting a total that India would at least find tricky to chase down. Enter Tom Hartley. After being smashed Yashasvi Jaiswal in the 1^st innings, he showed great character to bounce back and rip through India’s top order. He finished with 7 wickets, and England achieved what at the time was the hardest thing to do in international cricket: an overseas win in India. That they did this despite a deficit of 190 in the 1^st innings means this has to be top.