Bazball, Tory Cricket Culture Wars, Johnson & Sunak
Bazball the current mode of the England cricket team is about winning.
A Tory Culture War is underway on cricket.
Boris Johnson has given an interview to the Junior Chronicle, the Eton boys magazine, edited by Peter Rees Mogg. He argues that if you’re a batsman and the Umpire gives you out behind even though you know the ball hit your pad and not the bat, you respect the Umpire and walk.
However as the House of Commons voted on 19th June Johnson is a liar and his version of Bazball continues to be about himself winning. Hence he has told The Times that there is always another innings, W G Grace style.
Rishi Sunak by contrast is an actual cricket fan (Johnson is actually a rugby man) and pictures of him watching the first day of the Ashes on Friday appeared. New Labour scribbler Philip Collins tweeted that Sunak should be supporting India. He subsequently deleted the tweet, but it reflects some of the nastiness in that mindset.
Sunak passes the Tebbit Test and supports England. Not so long Andrew Strauss, former England cricket captain, spoke to a gathering of Cabinet members at Chequers about how to win (at cricket). Sunak has his own version of Bazball
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