Stokes a Viking berserker, the Trojan War and making cricket great again: A historian’s take on Bazball and the Ashes
“He looks like a Viking chieftain with that beard. And his whole approach, work yourself up into a berserker fury and charge, I always thought there was something faintly Viking about it, and the laughter as the arrows rain down and send you off to Valhalla.
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“That whole ‘tis better to die than to live as a coward’ kind of attitude, occasionally it gives the Vikings glorious victories, and on other occasions they all end up slaughtered and food for ravens on the battlefield.”
In a more contemporary sense, Holland looks upon Bazball through a somewhat political lens.
“There was something incredibly miserable about English cricket on their last tour of Australia,” he says. “I got the sense that none of them were enjoying it, and I guess you could say it’s a little bit like leaders who try to give countries back their joie de vivre after a rough time.
“So there’s a bit of making cricket great again – I don’t want to compare Stokes to Trump, but it is a time-honoured political formula. It’s what Napoleon is doing, it’s what Charlemagne is doing, it’s what Augustus is doing.
“If you’re a professional cricketer, maybe you might have a nostalgia for the time when you played as a child with enthusiasm and relish for something new and exciting and you try to resurrect that. Cricket also is always haunted by a nostalgia where people think things used to be better in the past. But they were looking for a kind of renaissance, so let’s say it’s a renaissance.”
Tom Holland at the nets in Melbourne.
Though they play up their contrasts, Holland and Sandbrook do legitimately disagree on cricket. Holland has loved it ever since he watched the legendary 1981 Headingley Test match as a child, while Sandbrook is much more of a soccer man.
That Holland’s Aston Villa beat Sandbrook’s Wolves this week has added another layer of banter to their live shows. But both agree that a cricket series will be part of The Rest Is History soon: on the 1932-33 Bodyline Ashes tour.
“That is sufficiently historic,” Holland says. “If we’re going to do a cricket theme or any sporting theme, it needs to be big enough and culturally or politically significant enough that even American listeners will be brought along.
“Bodyline is the obvious example of that happening. It’s something we’ve been talking about doing for a long time.”
Before that, Holland will be on the edge of his seat at the Gabba. Not just for England, but for Zak Crawley, who sits alongside Sir Ian Botham and Kevin Pietersen in the trio of cricketers for whom he has held the brightest candle.
“I watched him get a brilliant double century against Pakistan in lockdown,” Holland says. “His innings was all about joy and brilliance and I’ve loved him ever since.
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“But unlike Botham or Pietersen I get fewer returns for my devotion. But when the returns do come in, then it’s glorious. I was devastated for him in Perth, but keeping my fingers crossed.”
As for England’s chances of getting back into the series, Holland is clinging to hope largely derived from the 2023 Ashes and a comeback from 0-2 down to 2-2.
“There does seem to be a slight quality of Russian roulette about it, and my sense is it depends, especially with a Bazball team, on what time they are batting,” he says. “So I’m praying to the cricket gods.
“I’m not just doing that selfishly as an England supporter. I think it would be for the good of the series and Test cricket for England to win. Even if they go 0-2 down, maybe they’ll come back in Adelaide. I wouldn’t put it past them – they deal in improbability.”
