What is Bazball in cricket? Bazball is a fresh aggressive approach coined for England’s new Test coach, Brendon McCullum, whose nickname is ‘Baz.’

Why are we discussing Bazball in cricket in 2022?

Since captain Ben Stokes & McCullum took over, England cricket team’s record in Test match format has been astonishing: WWWWLWWWWW. This includes seven wins at home against New Zealand, India, & South Africa and 3 away wins in Pakistan. The manner of victory has been even more mind boggling—An innings victory and six wins with 5 wickets or more.

When you type ‘Bazball’ in Google Trends, you get this image below. With England’s astonishing consecutive fourth innings chases in Test match cricket, especially with the 378 against India, no wonder that interest in this term has really, really piqued in the last few days.

But what in the world is Bazball? Can someone be Bazballing? Could you become a Bazballer? Is it a noun, verb, adjective, or all of the above?

Don’t worry, be happy.

Today, we will help you out and try to answer this exact answer—The who, what, where, when, and how of Bazball!

Table of Contents

• Definition of Bazball
• 10 Examples of Bazball
• Different Interpretations of the Bazball
  • 1. The Eagle (Hindi)
  • 2. Sanjay Manjrekar on Rishabh Pant
  • 3. Can You Use It in a Sentence?
• Origins and History of Bazball
• Brendon McCullum In His Own Words
• Can Brendon McCullum Fulfill His True Legacy?
• Frequently Asked Questions

Definition of Bazball | Bazball Meaning

While writing this unofficially official definition of Bazball, we took inspiration from the Merriam-Webster dictionary. We make an honest attempt here to write this definition similar dictionary format—part of speech (noun, verb, adjective, etc.), phonetic pronunciation, variants, examples, and more!

Bazball
noun | b-aa-zzz-böl
variants: Bazballing, Bazballer, Bazballed, The Bazball Effect
1. The purpose and intent of Bazball is to completely annihilate the opposition, abruptly change the tide of a game, and bring an uneasy calm before a surprising storm, all without sacrificing the inner innocence and amusement of a three-year-old child.
1b. Note, the prerequisite of Bazballing is the existence of a Bairstow and the ability to display aggression without displaying aggression.
1c. The Bazball Effect is largely a cricketing phenomenon but is not limited to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

I know, I know. This sounds too complicated. As conveyed in Bollywood’s 3 Idiots in the acclaimed “What is a Machine” scene, sometimes a simple definition does justice.

So, in simple terms, what is Bazball? Brave, Brash, and lots of Bairstow.

11 Examples of Bazball

1. England selecting Rob Key, a former English cricketer and commentator with zero administrative experience, as the Managing Director of the English Cricket Team and choosing Brendon McCullum (zero first-class coaching experience) as the head coach of the England Test team.
2. England captain Ben Stokes declaring on Day 1 with a score of 393/8 on a flat deck with Joe Root still 118*
3. England team chasing 279/5 in 78.5 overs (RR 3.53) in the 4th innings of a Test match
4. Not dropping Jimmy Anderson and Stuart Broad
5. Jonny Bairstow scoring 136 in 92 balls and once again, England chasing 299 in 50 overs (RR 5.98) with 5 wickets remaining
6. Daryl Mitchell and Tom Blundell scoring 4 centuries and 5 half-centuries between them, not giving up, and giving England a taste of their own medicine
7. Jonny Bairstow smashing 162 (157) and 71* (44) and yet again, England chasing 296 in 54.2 overs (RR 5.44) with 7 wickets in hand
8. Jasprit Bumrah scoring 35 runs off one Stuart Broad over
9. JB bulldozing 106 & 114* runs and England chasing 378/3 in the 4th innings of a Test match with 7 wickets remaining
10. Virat Kohli sledging Jonny Bairstow to wake up the sleeping beast
11. Joe Root being Joe Root (737 runs, 2 wickets, and player of series vs India. Now at 10458 runs and 28 Test centuries)

Different Interpretations of the Bazball

Well, don’t take my word for it. Every word has several interpretations based on the circumstance. Here are three of my favorite interpretations of Bazball.

1. The Eagle (Hindi)

In the Indian language of Hindi, Baaz means Eagle—a majestic bird that hunts its prey. Highly focused, always gets to the target.

Cannot think of a better metaphor for Bazball to be honest. The Baz meaning in Hindi aptly describes the true essence of Bazball.

2. Sanjay Manjrekar on Rishabh Pant

Well, is Bazball an original creation? The first time that cricket has experienced this feeling?

No, definitely not. We have seen this before.

As Sanjay Manjrekar states, we don’t need to look any further than Rishabh Pant.

So what’s Bazball? Well, it’s how Rishabh Pant has been playing in his last 31 Tests.

— Sanjay Manjrekar (@sanjaymanjrekar) July 7, 2022

3. Can You Use It in a Sentence?

In a Spelling Bee, a contestant can ask for usage in a sentence to further understand the word. Our next example doubles up as an interpretation and also satisfies the “Can You Use It in a Sentence?” segment (Don’t know what I am referring to? Watch this hilarious Jimmy Kimmel Spelling Bee segment).

There have been several interpretations of Bazball floating around on the internet, but my favorite by far, has been Andrew Fidel Fernando’s interpretation. Here is an excerpt:

“When a fielder sledges you and you sledge them back with runs. That’s Bazball. When you are so intent on showing respect to the opposition’s bowlers you walk down the track, clear your front leg, and respect them repeatedly into the sightscreen. That’s Bazball. When an old lady needs help crossing the street, but instead of walking her across you fire her from a cannon all the way into her house. Definitely Bazball…When something has been around for a while, but the rebranding is so strong it seems futuile to resist…perhaps this is also Bazball?

Origins and History of Bazball

Brendon McCullum, affectionately known as Baz, has always been in the forefront of the media.

Whether as a swashbuckling wicketkeeper back in 2002, the unofficial launcher of the Indian Premier League with his 158*, captain supreme of New Zealand’s golden run to the 2015 ODI World Cup Final, Baz has always been there. Rejuvenating Eoin Morgan’s men to ODI overhaul, inventing the BMacDilscoop, retiring on a high with the fastest Test hundred, coaching Trinbago Knight Riders to unbeaten glory, or note-taking KKR’s way out of IPL Playoffs, McCullum is a trendsetter.

But this time, it’s different. Coaching T20s? Fine, but Test matches? Baz has no experience. Questions were tossed. The England cricket team had only won one match in their last 17 Tests. How could they possibly bounce back?

They didn’t just bounce back. They Bazzed back. Whatever that means.

Four wins in four Test matches. Record chases of 250+. They have now brushed aside both of the finalists in the inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, New Zealand and India. The Rob Key-Brendon McCullum-Ben Stokes partnership has somehow swayed a magic wand over England and rejuvenated the English fans’ hopes in Test cricket

England are no longer the good guys of world cricket. They are, now the Baz boys….

Brendon McCullum In His Own Words

Here are some snippets of Brendon McCullum from an interview after a 3-0 win over his home nation, New Zealand. When asked about emotion, clarity, keeping it simple, and his general coaching style, he said,

“I try to quieten down some of the noise…Trying to get these guys closer together and try for them to understand their game…give them as much confidence as I can…we can get caught up in a fear of failure…..and I don’t know what Bazball is…don’t know where it came from..[on Jonny] .Go out there and just be yourself. Have your moment…Try to inspire the next generation of Test cricket”

– Brendon McCullum

This has already inspired the likes of Dravid-Ball, Lax-Ball. How far reaching will McCullum’s coaching impact be?

Can Brendon McCullum Fulfill His True Legacy?

Brendon McCullum has won trophies, gained worldwide acclaim, and played memorable innings. He has achieved everything a cricketer can achieve in his or her life.

McCullum has been a lifelong trendsetter. Now only goal remains.

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Can Brendon McCullum, aka Baz, fulfill his legacy and make the Dictionary?

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*In order to get an official word in the Merriam-Webster dictionary, the usage and citation matters. There are dictionary employees working on a daily basis perusing through publications, articles, online editorials, etc. So basically, if we use Bazball enough, especially in written work, it will one-day, make the dictionary.

Bazball in England Cricket – Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ)

© Copyright @Nitesh Mathur and Broken Cricket Dreams, 2021. Originally published on 07/07/2022. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this site’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Broken Cricket Dreams with appropriate and specific direction to the original content (i.e. linked to the exact post/article).