‘I don't have any idea what Bazball is’

The Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes era of England cricket is off to a perfect start with the team winning all four of their Tests so far under the new regime.

The most impressive part of this recent run has been the four consecutive successful run chases of targets greater than 250 runs and the manner in which England have approached those innings.

The phrase "Bazball" has been echoing in the cricket world for the past few weeks thanks to the attacking style of play that England have adopted under McCullum's tutelage.

But the former New Zealand captain mentioned that this playing style could at times be over-simplified and misunderstood.
Speaking to SEN radio in Perth, McCullum said, "I don't have any idea what 'Bazball' is. It's not just all crash and burn, if you look at the approach, and that's why I don't really like that silly term that people are throwing out there.

"Because there's actually quite a bit of thought that goes into how the guys manufacture their performances and when they put pressure on bowlers and which bowlers they put pressure on. There's also times where they've absorbed pressure beautifully as well."

Radio host Adam Gilchrist, someone who was famous for his attacking mentality with the bat, asked if this ultra-attacking style by England had changed the landscape of Test cricket.

"I certainly wouldn't say that", McCullum said as he shared insight on what he and his team are trying to achieve with this approach.

"All we try and do is play a brand of cricket which gives the guys the greatest amount of satisfaction and gives them the best opportunity. We've also got an obligation to entertain.

"It's been a challenging period for those who love the game of Test cricket because society has changed and people don't necessarily have five days to sit down and watch cricket anymore, so we need to make sure that the product that we've got and the product that we're taking to the people is worthy of their time and is able to captivate some of those imaginations.

"So that's one of the fundamental reasons why the guys are wanting to play this style of cricket and it seems to really resonate with them as well. From my point of view as a coach, it certainly resonates with me because it's how I like to see the game played, and the same as the skipper [Ben Stokes]."

The England coach also mentioned the challenges that the "external noise" from the media can bring and how he and his team have consciously tried to look past all the distractions heading into recent matches.

"The media over here, it is a huge beast and sometimes the negative and the positive can seep into an environment," he said. "One thing we've tried to do is just be totally honest with one another and try and block some of that external stuff out and quieten down some of that noise. I think that's helped."