"Baz hates it" - Ben Stokes on the term 'Bazball'

England captain Ben Stokes has revealed that head coach Brendon McCullum is in no way fond of the word 'Bazball'. The seam-bowling all-rounder highlighted that the team tries to stay away from it as much as possible.

The term 'Bazball' emerged from English media circles during the summer of 2022 when England adopted an aggressive approach in Test cricket. That particular summer saw Stokes and Co. successfully chase down four consecutive totals of over 250, including gunning down 378 against India at Edgbaston.

Speaking to Jio Cinema in an interview, the 32-year-old stated:

"Bazball. It's a phrase that got created in the media. It's something that we try and stay away from. Baz hates it. Whenever that word pops up, we just try and say that's how the England team plays its Test match cricket."

The Englishmen's aggressive approach earned them series sweeps over New Zealand at home and Pakistan away. However, they failed to regain the Ashes on home soil last year as the series ended in a 2-2 draw.

Ben Stokes joined Joe Root after the fall of Jonny Bairstow on Day 1 in Hyderabad

Ben Stokes plays a sweep in Hyderabad. (Credits: Getty)

Meanwhile, the visiting captain came in to bat at a critical time for England on Day 1 of the first Test against India in Hyderabad. England chose to bat first after winning the toss, with Zak Crawley and Ben Duckett stitching together a 55-run opening stand.

However, the tourists slipped to 60-3 in the blink of an eye before Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow put together a 60-run stand. The partnership was broken by Axar Patel, who knocked over Bairstow's stumps with a peach. Root fell shortly after that to Ravindra Jadeja, while Ben Foakes and Rehan Ahmed didn't trouble the scorers too much.

England's build-up to the opening Test was surrounded by controversy as uncapped spinner Shoaib Bashir could not make it to India in time for the first Test due to visa struggles. Bashir returned to the UK, with the ECB revealing that he will join the squad over the weekend after receiving his visa.