What is Bazzball? – England’s Unprecedented Approach That Is Likely To Change Test Cricket
Jul 7, 2022 at 11:45 AM
Bazzball has become the talk of the town thanks to England’s stunning and aggressive batting displays in Test cricket in the ongoing season.
What is Bazzball? This particular question is probably the most talked about question in the cricket world at the moment. The reason behind it is England’s unprecedented batting method in the longest format of the game.
The appointment of Brendon McCullum as England’s Test coach has completely transformed their fortunes. Not very long ago, England were going through a horrific phase in red-ball cricket.
Following a series of poor results, Ben Stokes replaced Joe Root as England’s Test captain while McCullum was named the coach. And since then, things have changed completely for England. Since the appointment of Stokes and McCullum, they have won four Tests in a row – three against England and one against India.
In all the three games, England chased down more than 250 runs in the fourth innings. Against India, they chased down a record 378 runs with utmost ease. With Stokes & Co. doing phenomenally well in Test cricket this season, people’s curiosity has increased in the newly-coined term Bazzball. England have been attributing their recent victories to Bazzball.
What is Bazzball?
This term is so new and uncommon that even India head coach Rahul Dravid is unaware of it. After the game at Edgbaston, when Dravid was asked about the Bazzball concept, he replied, “Don’t really know what’s that. I would definitely say that the kind of cricket they have been playing in the last few months has been really good…”
But while the rest of the world might not have got a hold of the term so far, it has become quite popular in England. The English commentators, coaches, players and the fans have been constantly talking about it.
“Even the most cynical of curmudgeons will feel evangelical about ‘Bazball’ if England pull this off. This bowling attack is a level above the New Zealand one England decimated,” former cricketer-turned-commentator Mark Butcher had said on Sky Sports at lunch on day four at Edgbaston.
So what exactly does the term Bazzball mean? It is named after Brendon McCullum whose nickname is Bazz and thus the new brand of cricket displayed by England is being called Bazzball.
It is a tradition in sports to label the brand of play advocated by the coach as a kind of “Ball” prefixed with the name of the coach. It is a very common practice in football. The Bazzball revolution has made England’s players fearless. They have been urged by their coach and skipper to play aggressively and go for the win no matter what the situation is.
England’s recent displays is a reminder of how McCullum used to bat during his playing days. The former New Zealand captain was known for his aggressive approach with the bat and England have used the same style of play in recent months.