England head coach Brendon McCullum has come under the scanner of the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) over his involvement in an advertisement for a betting company during an Indian Premier League (IPL). As of now, ECB is having discussions with him about the same, as English cricket board rules prohibit players and officials from participating in or encouraging betting on matches.
The former Kiwi star player tookover as England’s head coach in 2022 with Ben Stokes at the helm of affairs. The duo has created a new style of gameplay, especially in the longer format of the game called ‘Bazball’, where they play Test matches to get results in the game. McCullum has been seen appearing in advertisements for the betting company on the video streaming platform YouTube amid the ongoing IPL 2023 season.
ECB statement on Brendon McCullum regarding association with ‘betting’ company-
“We are currently exploring the matter and in discussions with Brendon around his relationship with the Cypriot-based betting company, 22Bet. We have rules in place around gambling and will always seek to ensure these are followed,” an ECB spokesperson said in a statement.
Rinku!
— Brendon McCullum (@Bazmccullum) April 9, 2023
Earlier, tech giant Google pulled an online gambling ad featuring the former Black Caps star from YouTube as the ads violated its policies on gambling, including a requirement that advertised services be properly licenced in places they operated.
While in cricket ‘Bazball’ commonly refers to the style of play by England’s cricket team after the appointment of Brendon Mccullum as a head coach. This new approach of the English team was criticised after their recent defeat against New Zealand in one of the Test matches. While former England skipper, Alastair Cook thinks Bazball has worked in different conditions, which the opposition didn’t expect from Brendon Mccullum’s players.
Earlier, in the NZ Test series, Stokes became the fastest skipper from England to win the 10th longer format game, breaking Michael Vaughan’s record. The left-handed batter Stokes credited Engish cricket after winning the first test match on Kiwi home soil after 15 years, he also asked the media and fans not to refer to their aggressive style as “Bazball” or “Benball”.
Whereas, after the end of IPL 2023 on 28th May, the five-Test series will start on July 16, 2023, at Birmingham, while Australia is the current holder of the Ashes trophy as they won the last series by 4-0.