The Ashes 2025: What is Bazball? Meaning & England’s style of cricket explained

McCullum himself does not like the term and the New Zealand himself said there are often misconceptions around it.

At times under his stewardship, some England batters have been accused of losing their wicket cheaply by taking an aggressive approach.

In 2022, BBC Test Match Special pundit Michael Vaughan called a Jonny Bairstow dismissal “dumb” and “pathetic”. But McCullum has defended his tactics.

“I think there’s a bit of a misconception about how we play, that we swing the bat as hard as we can, we try to take wickets and then we go for a round of golf and a few beers,” McCullum said in September 2025.

“I find it slightly disrespectful to all of you guys [the players] and all of the people in the set-up who work so hard and have such clear determination of wanting to succeed, to have that so simply categorised, almost.”

England white ball captain and Test vice-captain Harry Brook is among those who enjoys the approach and has been among the beneficiaries of Bazball.

“We want to entertain,” he said in September 2024.

Australia’s players have often downplayed Bazball and its effect on cricket.

Speaking on Bazball, spinner Nathan Lyon told BBC Sport: “I don’t mind hearing about it. It’s their type of cricket. I just feel like we’ve been playing entertaining cricket for a number of years now, we just don’t need to call it a name to justify it.

“I’ve seen David Warner score centuries in a session well and truly before Bazball was invented.”

Former Australia wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist recently said: “We were doing it 20 years before them. It’s just the way you play cricket.

“No, it [Bazball] does not wind me up. It makes for compelling viewing. Bring it on.”