Brendon McCullum didn’t step down as the head coach of the England men’s cricket team in Test cricket. He was sacked. It was like any corporate organisation asking an employee to resign instead of officially sacking them. McCullum described the decision as gutting but accepted it, since the results hadn’t been great.
The decision came weeks after Ben Stokes announced his retirement from all forms of cricket. Together they formed ‘Bazball’. Although the name emerged from McCullum’s nickname of ‘Baz’, it was truly a partnership. After 4 years, it has come to an end. First Stokes left, partly because of how the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) handled the curfew breach, and now McCullum has been sacked.
End of Bazball
One can’t really call their reign successful since England failed to defeat India and Australia at home or away during these four years. But Stokes and McCullum changed Test cricket. They surely made it a bit more exciting with their approach. The funky fields and bowling plans. Bashing the ball from the get-go.
Their aggressive batting approach worked on placid and extremely bowling-friendly surfaces. They managed to score 508 runs on a single day in Rawalpindi and defeated Pakistan on some of the flattest pitches. Four years down the line, one may ask, ‘Have they left English cricket in a better place?’ Probably not. But was everyone entertained? Absolutely. And that’s what they set out to do.
The former New Zealand batter has revealed that Stokes pinged him after the news became official. McCullum feels poetic and kind of romantic that they both started things together and go out together as well. It’s officially the end of an era for England.
“I got some nice messages from Stokesy, actually, and in a romantic kind of way, there’s something about Stokesy and me going out together, which we started together, and we go out together, and I have no problem with that,” McCullum told BBC Test Match Special.
Bazball (Stokes & McCullum) record in Test cricket
Under Bazball, England won 24 of 42 Test matches. No captain and coach duo who were in charge have a better winning percentage with 40 matches to their names.
| Matches | Won | Lost | Draw | Win% |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 42 | 24 | 16 | 2 | 57.14 |
