‘Bazball’ is an approach to batting in Test cricket championed by former New Zealand captain and current England head coach Brendon ‘Baz’ McCullum. It involves taking chances more frequently than is the norm, aiming to score as quickly as possible at the cost of losing wickets more often.
‘Bazball’ has dominated the conversation in the 2023 Ashes, and in Test cricket more generally. So much so that after the fourth Test at Old Trafford was drawn due to rain, ECB chair Richard Thompson suggested that the rain rules should be modified. Thompson said he would speak to the ICC chair and make him understand that England has “elevated [Test cricket] and reinvented the way [it] has been played.”
