Bazball 'misconceptions' are 'disrespectful' - McCullum

Brendon McCullum took over England's Test team in 2022 and the white-ball sides in 2024

"Misconceptions" surrounding England's team and their style of play are "disrespectful", according to head coach Brendon McCullum.

McCullum took over England's Test side in 2022 alongside captain Ben Stokes and revived a team that had won one match in 17.

They have since become known for a fearless and aggressive brand of cricket, particularly with the bat, but McCullum - who dislikes the term "Bazball" which was coined to describe the approach - has frustrations around how they are perceived as a team.

"We never have that kind of mindset about ourselves in the sense that, we're not rigid in how we go about things," McCullum told the For the Love of Cricket podcast.

"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.

"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."

Before the start of the summer, McCullum called on his players to show more "humility" after making headlines with some of their comments which were perceived as not caring enough about winning.

Comments which caused a stir include Ben Duckett saying it did not matter that England lost 3-0 to India as long as they went on to win the Champions Trophy, while in September last year Harry Brook said "if you get caught somewhere on the boundary, then who cares?" when asked about his side's one-day batting approach.

But McCullum added that his messaging has always been around players' mindset, rather than instilling a particular way of playing or a focus on high scoring.

"For us, it's about trying to create an environment that allows you to handle the pressures of international cricket, to understand the size of that task but to not be restricted in your ability to play," McCullum added.

"You want your talent to come out, I hate seeing talent stymied, so having a certain style or belief in how we want to play gives us the best chance of success.

"You can't do that if you are bound by this tension and negativity. I know they want to win, I know I want to win, I know the opposition wants to win.

"Just because I keep saying it doesn't mean it's just going to happen, so how do we go about that?"

2025 is a defining year for McCullum and Stokes' side, which started with a thrilling drawn series against India before the Ashes starts in Perth on 21 November.

It has been a difficult year for the white-ball team, however, which McCullum took over last year.

They were thrashed by India away from home before crashing out of the Champions Trophy, and while Harry Brook led a clean sweep over West Indies in his first series in charge, they were recently beaten 2-1 in the one-day international series against South Africa.

McCullum said that when he was appointed in 2022, he felt he was not suited to the white-ball role because at that time they needed someone to take them "from good to great", while he is now tasked with a similar rebuild that he managed with the Test side.

"I felt like what you guys needed at that time, my skills were kind of suited to that [Test cricket] – giving guys confidence and encouragement to push the boundaries of their games," McCullum said.

"I looked at where the white-ball side was at and I was thinking, that's not really my skill, I'm about giving a team soul and purpose and freedom, and pushing them towards bravery on the field.

"So I felt the Test team was more aligned to that, at the time."