The term ‘Bazball’ emerged after Brendon McCullum, nicknamed Baz, was appointed England Test coach last year.
Australian Nathan Lyon appeals against the wicket of England’s Jos Buttler Photo: Reuters
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Australian Nathan Lyon appeals against the wicket of England’s Jos Buttler Photo: Reuters
Australian player Nathan Lyon has dismissed claims that ‘Bazball’, an aggressive brand of cricket introduced by the England Test team, has revolutionized the game.
Lyon, who is just four wickets short of 500 wickets in Test cricket, said he had not seen ‘Bazball’ in the two Ashes matches he played in last year before get hurt for the other three.
The term ‘Bazball’ emerged after Brendon McCullum, nicknamed Baz, was appointed England Test coach last year.
“I’m 2-0 against Bazball so I’m happy,” Lyon joked on Channel 7’s Front Bar. “It’s a load of bullshit, in my opinion. It’s a brand of cricket that the English people want to continue. Now it’s in the dictionary, which is quite extraordinary.”
This was not the first time that Lyon had made fun of “Bazball” and again, he described aggression as the ability to shift gears during a test match.
“I know everyone keeps talking about BazBall, to be honest I haven’t really seen BazBall… throughout my two tests against them.
“I look at the Australian cricket team and the batting we’ve had, David Warner for example… I’ve seen him score hundreds in one session and that’s playing attacking cricket.
“I think there’s a lot of smoke and mirrors with BazBall, if I’m honest with you, and I feel like if you want to play aggressive cricket anyway, it’s about being able to go up and down in gears and understanding the moments of the game,” he added.
Australia retained the Ashes with a five-match series ending 2-2 last year.
