Over-50s World Cup: England approach 'not quite 'Bazball' - Giles Ecclestone
- Published
Giles Ecclestone was once part of the Essex system and played Minor Counties cricket for Cambridgeshire
England will not be adopting full-on 'Bazball' tactics in their attempt to win the Over-50s World Cup in South Africa, says batter Giles Ecclestone.
Ecclestone hailed the "phenomenally brave" approach of Test captain Ben Stokes since taking over last year.
But he told BBC Essex: "Most of us are just trying to get through the first games without picking up any injuries."
The Over-50s World Cup began on Monday, with England defeating Namibia by 204 runs, external in their opening group match.
Ecclestone made 44 before a stand of 185 between David Snellgrove (118 not out) and Steve Chapman (101) propelled them to a total of 307-3 and Namibia mustered only 103-8 in reply.
England also have hosts South Africa, India, Pakistan, UAE and Wales in their pool, with games played over 45 overs per side.
"There are slightly different ambitions in Over-50s cricket. You have to be a little bit realistic on what your body can take," said 54-year-old Ecclestone, from Essex.
"It could potentially be 10 games in 18 days and it's 30-something degrees out here, so you've got to be fit to get through that as a 50-something-year-old.
"We want to play positively, very definitely; we've got to play good, aggressive cricket to win. That's the mentality - it's not quite 'Bazball' but maybe on the way."
Games like that don't come around too often - Stokes
Ecclestone believes the ultra-positive tactics adopted by Stokes and England head coach Brendon McCullum could "save Test cricket" in other countries, if they follow suit.
"When I look back at cricket 30 years ago, when I was in my early 20s, and in and out of the Essex set-up, it would have been lovely to have that sort of messaging coming down from the top," said Ecclestone.
"It was a very different situation back then and a few of us are those sort of cricketers who would have probably thrived with that sort of positive outlook to cricket rather than feeling sort of handcuffed by what was thought to be traditionally the right way to play first-class cricket."
The 14-team Over-50s tournament, taking place in the Cape Town area, had to be rescheduled after being scrapped in 2020 because of the pandemic.
Ecclestone recalled: "I've been looking forward to this for a long time now. We were here three years ago just as Covid hit for the first time.
"We were half-way through the tournament and suddenly we came off the field against Namibia to be greeted by [South Africa great] Barry Richards saying we've got to have an emergency meeting with all the teams.
"He delivered the message that the tournament was cancelled with immediate effect. That was probably the most disappointing feeling I've ever experienced from a cricketing perspective. Everyone was gutted because it was just such a fantastic first week."
Giles Ecclestone playing for the MCC in Beijing in 2006
England Over-50s squad |
|---|
David Snellgrove (captain), Stephen Foster, Naseer Ahmed, Stephen Chapman, Sean Cooper, Richard Cooper, Giles Ecclestone, Mehboob Elahi, Mo Fayaz, Paul Fenn, Martyn Gidley, Charlie Knightley, Rob Nelson, Marcus Sharp, Richard Trotman, Jon Wileman, James Williams, Craig Wilson |
Ecclestone believes England have a good chance of winning the title despite the tournament being played in their off-season.
"I think we're one of the top six," he added.
"Pretty much all the other sides in the competition are coming off the mid-end of their summers, so we've quickly got to get acclimatised.
"I don't see why we can't do well and win it but obviously we'll have to play well to do that because there are five or six very good sides now."
A corrupt copper and a gangster bound by decades of dishonesty: A thrilling drama set in Leeds
Do more expensive AA batteries last longer?: Sliced Bread is charged up to find out
