Brendon McCullum has enjoyed a remarkable start to his England career. Photo / Mike Scott
He’s no fan of the term, but Brendon McCullum can deliver a thorough dissertation on Bazball.
Listen to the England coach and it quickly becomes clear how - and why - he has embarked on a test-cricket revolution.
McCullum will this month provide New Zealand supporters a first-hand lesson in what Bazball means and, if England have their way in a two-test series against the Black Caps, what it reaps.
So far, the results have been remarkable, nine wins in 10 tests. But McCullum emphasises his approach is about much more than results and, indeed, what has most widened eyes during his nine-month tenure is the brand of cricket employed by his side.
Before his reign began, a timid England had won one of their previous 17 tests. Achievements like December’s historic series sweep in Pakistan were unthinkable.
But in the hasty manner he consistently displayed at the crease, the former New Zealand captain has England playing in his image, with innovation and daring and intention to impose their will.
The way McCullum explains, as he prepares for the start of the first test against the Black Caps at Bay Oval on Thursday, that’s the basic tenet of Bazball: his charges always had the ability, it merely needed unlocking.
“The boys are just playing how they want to play,” McCullum says. “From our point of view, it’s just giving them the most amount of freedom and flexibility to do what they want to do.
“What we’re trying to encourage from a batting point of view is identifying when the time is to absorb pressure and identifying - and being brave enough - when the time is to be able to put pressure back on the opposition. And if you’re able to do that and you get out doing it, so be it.
“It’s pretty exciting to watch the talent these guys have got. Some of those shots and some of the skills they possess are pretty insane. We sit back in awe at times about how good these guys can be.”
Many observers have been awed by England’s accomplishments since McCullum took charge, signalling intention in his maiden international coaching role with a 3-0 series victory over his former team.
England ended 2022 with a run rate of 4.13, the only side in history to breach the four-run barrier across a calendar year consisting of at least three matches, while their final series was even more explosive, scoring at 5.50 an over in the sweep of Pakistan.
With skipper Ben Stokes matching that batting aggressiveness in field placements and declarations, no match was beyond England’s suddenly extensive reach, recording improbable triumphs from situations a century of test precedent had dictated were lost.
For McCullum and Stokes, dour draws became unacceptable, placid pitches a minor impediment to their march. They would blast their way back into games - and have a blast in the process.
“In any job that you do, you want to have fun, otherwise what’s the point?” McCullum says. “We get one crack at life and if you’ve got some skills in something and you’ve got some aspirations and dreams, why would you not want to try and live those out and have a smile on your face while you’re doing it?
“Test cricket is hard and traveling the world can be difficult as well. It’s meant to be a fun time in your life and you should be able to enjoy it.
“Guys are enjoying their cricket. You see they walk around the dressing room and training and they’ve got smiles on their faces and they’re laughing and joking. And when they put their head down and start working, they put in the hard yards.
“Then it’s a matter of being able to, in pressure situations, be brave enough to allow that talent and that hard work and the enjoyment factor to come out. And if you do that, you don’t know where the ceiling is.
“There’ll be some tough times, no doubt. It will be intriguing how we handle those, too, but I’m sure we’ll handle them with the same sort of calm that we’ve been able to handle the success we’ve had. With this skipper in charge, I’m not sure what’s possible, because he’s a guy who writes his own scripts.”
That same description could easily have been applied to McCullum with bat in hand, as those on the banks at Bay Oval and then the Basin Reserve will know well. In Stokes, he has the perfect vehicle for his ideals, the pair currently locked atop the leaderboard for most sixes in test cricket.
McCullum had some idea what he was inheriting in Stokes and his teammates, but the 41-year-old admitted he was surprised how readily and prosperously they had adopted and adapted to the new style, especially in response to a rare setback.
“I knew coming into this job that England had good players but I didn’t realise they were this good. I knew the skipper would be good, but I didn’t realise he’d be this good,” McCullum says.
“The way the guys have responded to his leadership and all the environment changes that we’ve tried to make - maybe just trying to strip a little bit of the formality out of things and get guys back to pushing one another - I think they’ve responded really well.
“Success obviously helps, but one of the proudest moments we’ve had so far is when we bounced back from that test match loss against South Africa at Lord’s. If you were in the dressing room, the way the skipper spoke after, the way the senior players were and the way the guys stuck together, you would not have known that we lost that test match.
“That’s what you want when you play sport, because you can’t guarantee success.”
There was no guarantee it would be this way, not considering how long England had struggled in the longest form. As the white-ball sides in recent years blitzed their way to a couple of World Cups, the test team battled for respectability, barely avoiding a 5-0 crushing in last summer’s Ashes.
McCullum pointed to mitigating factors when assessing the disparity between his England and their predecessors, believing the players, like many supporters, were aching for a bit of freedom.
“It’s a tough one because I wasn’t around during the previous time and it was a global pandemic,” he says. “There’s lots of challenges and lots of restrictions on guys, and when you’re playing test cricket and things aren’t going according to plan, and then you throw in the other restrictions that everyone around the world experienced throughout that time, it’s incredibly demanding.
“Timing is everything in life and taking over when we did, the guys were ready for that sense of freedom. Everything around the world opened up and now people appreciate the opportunity we’ve got to play cricket and represent the people you represent and play a game you absolutely love.
“It’s been a good start, definitely. Results have been great, but it’s not so much the results. I know we get judged by them but that’s not really my focus, or the skipper’s. We just want the guys to try and play a style of cricket which gives them the greatest opportunity to allow their talent to come out and have a good time while they’re doing it.”
This month, McCullum brings that good time back home, intending to dishearten the same fans he once delighted.
England will be confident of continuing their winning run against a Black Caps side without a victory in six tests, coming off a drawn series in Pakistan that represented a contrast of missed opportunities when compared to McCullum’s men.
A home Ashes looms larger in the middle of the year, when England will attempt to earn back the urn they relinquished in 2017. Doing so will confirm for McCullum a legion of new adherents, although he hopes any founding members remain in his fanclub no matter what unfolds in the next few weeks.
Asked what reception he expected on Thursday at Mount Maunganui, McCullum paused and smiled.
“It should be all right, I would think. They’re going to be entertained regardless of whether New Zealand win or whether we win.
“People are patriotic and they want their own team to win, but this is one of the reasons we’re in the job that we’re in: we want to make test cricket entertaining, we want to ensure that people walk away with a great experience from the game.
“Even sometimes if your own team doesn’t win, you can still walk away knowing you’ve had a hell of a day out.”
The revised tournament schedule has finally been announced.