England’s Test head coach Brendon McCullum recently said that he is not satisfied with the term ‘Bazball’ as it devalues the thought process of the cricketers. However, the name ‘Bazball’ was coined by ESPNCricinfo editor Andrew Miller on an episode of the Switch Hit podcast after McCullum’s appointment as England’s Test cricket coach in May 2022 as well.
When he was asked what made him adopt the ‘Bazball’ approach, Brendon McCullum told TOI: “Well, I certainly didn’t call it (Bazball) that! And I don’t like that term either because it takes away from the thought process of the (England team) guys. You know, they work incredibly hard. They are very clear how they want to go about things and it’s a really simple gain that we are trying to achieve.”
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“Since the skipper Stoksey (Ben Stokes) has taken over, we’ve seen the team play with total conviction in its methods and I think that’s something that has worked out well for us. It’s not going to be always as rosy as it is at the moment, but we’ve had a good period, and we’re just going to trying to find ways to keep improving and getting better,” he continued.
So far, the new approach has helped Ben Stokes and Co. to achieve success many times as well. However, their strategy will tested when they tour India next year for a five-match series as well. However, the appointment of Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes as head coach and captain, respectively, has helped England’s Test side evolve where they have won a record number 13 out of 19 matches while ending on the losing side five times only.
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“I’m always an optimist. You hope that things work out well. International cricket is hard, right? There are very good players operating amongst many different nations. Sometimes, you play well and not necessarily win. The thing that I’m most pleased about is the total buy-in we’ve had from the players and the total conviction from the captain, and how he wants our team to play and how much fun the guys are having,” Brendon McCullum concluded.
