Australian cricketer Marnus Labuschagne didn't seem to be too thrilled about the inclusion of 'Bazball' in the Collins dictionary, humorously calling it ‘garbage.' When asked about this term making its way into the dictionary, Labuschagne responded with humour, saying, "Oh man, that is Garbage. I don't know what that is honestly. I have no idea what you're talking about," as seen in a video shared by cricket.com.au on X (formerly Twitter).
The term 'Bazball' has found its place in the Collins dictionary, acknowledging the bold and aggressive playing style adopted by the England men's cricket team in Test Cricket, guided by Brendon McCullum, their coach for red-ball cricket.
The term 'Bazball' came into existence when the former New Zealand captain and opening batsman, popularly known as 'Baz,' took on the role of England's Test coach in May 2022. This phrase gained widespread usage, especially during this year's Ashes series, in which England made a remarkable comeback after being 0-2 down, drawing the series 2-2.
Defined as a noun, Bazball is described in the dictionary as "a style of Test cricket in which the batting side plays in a highly aggressive manner."
During the 2023 Ashes series, Labuschagne mentioned how England's Test cricket style, known as 'Bazball,' was advantageous for Australia. After the first Test of the series at Edgbaston, Labuschagne remarked, "Playing that way and employing those shots are keeping us in the game... That's the advantage for us in the way they are playing."
Labuschagne made his way into the Australia’s 15-man squad for the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2023 after the all-rounder, Ashton Agar was ruled out of the tournament due to a calf injury.
Coming to Australia’s World Cup 2023 campaign, they had a horrid start to the tournament as they lost two back-to-back matches to India and South Africa. The Kangaroos, however, staged a resilient comeback as they won their next four matches in the World Cup 2023 consecutively, placing them on fourth spot on the tournament’s points table. Their next assignment is up against the defending champions and arch-rivals England on November 4 (Saturday).