England men’s Test cricket coach Brendon McCullum may not approve of the term ‘Bazball’ but the word is set to enter the Collins English Dictionary.
The phrase was coined to describe the swashbuckling brand of cricket England’s red-ball side adopted after McCullum – nicknamed ‘Baz’ – took over 18 months ago.
The New Zealander is known not to like the terminology, which he feels over-simplifies the philosophy and takes emphasis away from the players – but it has become common shorthand for the ultra-aggressive tactics employed since he and captain Ben Stokes took charge.
The term gained even wider appreciation with the added profile of this summer’s Ashes series and was one of 10 shortlisted candidates for Collins’ 2023 ‘word of the year’.
Categorised as a noun, the formal entry carries the definition: “A style of Test cricket in which the batting side plays in a highly aggressive manner.”
The winning word was ‘AI’ which edged out other suggestions including ‘debanking’, ‘ULEZ’, ‘nepo baby’ and ‘greedflation’.
McCullum is not alone in not being a fan of the term ‘Bazball’, with Australia batter Marnus Labuschagne labelling its inclusion in the dictionary as “garbage”.
Asked for his thoughts on the matter in an interview with cricket.com.au, Labuschagne said: “Oh man, that is garbage. I don’t know what that is. Honestly, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
