Headingley saw a controlled version of Bazball, especially on the final day when England needed to chase down 371 to win the opening Test of the five-match Test series against India. It didn't come off at Edgbaston, which India won quite comprehensively and whether due to the pitch or England felt that they had their backs against the wall, the batters slowed it down to playing traditional Test cricket, so much so that it the scoring rate came down to under three per over.
There was a period of 29 balls on the trot just after lunch, which saw not a single run scored for England. Jasprit Bumrah and Mohammed Siraj kept running in and Joe Root and Ollie Pope just played and missed. The bounce was up and down and the ball was moving miles. Root and Pope finally settled down but the cautious approach was evident and Mohammed Siraj tried to take a dig at England's 'slow' batting. Siraj was apparently missing Bazball and egged Root on to get back to it.
"Baz, Baz, Bazball. Come on, I want to see," chirped Siraj as Root missed the attempted cut to a shortish delivery from the Indian pacer. Even Indian captain Shubman Gill during those periods was heard on the stump mic saying that England were back to traditional boring Test cricket and that it wasn't entertaining cricket anymore.
Root and Pope got into some sort of rhythm in the next couple of overs and got through to tea unscathed. Pope's patience finally gave up in the final session with Ravindra Jadeja inducing an outside edge and substitute wicketkeeper Dhruv Jurel holding on to a sensational reflex catch. Jasprit Bumrah then sent back the World No 1 ranked Test batter Harry Brook in quick succession and India were back in the game.
The Lord's track played a bit up and down from the start and the batters had to adjust; however, as Joe Root with his unbeaten fifty showed, there were runs to be had if the batters got their eye in.