Google News
logo
Daily Current Affairs
'Bazball' officially added In Which English Dictionary?
A)
Webster
B)
Oxford
C)
Both (A) and (B)
D)
Collins

Correct Answer :   Collins


England men's cricket team's attacking brand of cricket under coach Brendon McCullum, commonly referred to as 'Bazball' has been added to Collins English Dictionary for 2023. The word Bazball is one of the 10 new words to have found a space in the prestigious dictionary.

The entry in the dictionary reads as follows: “Bazball [ˈbæzbɔːl] noun a style of test cricket in which the batting side plays in a highly aggressive manner. Word origin: C21: after Brendan McCullum, known as Baz (born 1981), New Zealand cricketer and coach.”

The word was first coined by ESPN cricinfo's UK editor Andrew Miller on a podcast ahead of the England vs New Zealand series in June 2022.

Baz is the nickname of McCullum, coming from his middle name 'Barrie', with the addition of' ball' an equivalent of any high-profile drama or investigation that adds the word ‘gate’ to a phrase.

Since then, the word has gained immense popularity and is used interchangeably to describe positive intent shown by any team, across sporting disciplines.

 

Origins of the word :

While attacking form of cricket has long been played by different teams, McCullum took it a notch above with the England red-ball team. The Three Lions had been playing a conservative brand of cricket, especially in Test matches, which was not bringing the desired results.

Looking for answers, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) turned to McCullum and appointed him the coach in 2022. Immediately after, he inculcated the habit of playing fearless cricket alongside captain Ben Stokes.

Apart from instructing players to go for their shots, Bazball's core philosophy lies in giving the players a long rope and confidence that they will not be dropped, come what may.

While Bazball was a McCullum-Stokes invention for the Test format, it has carried over to the limited-overs format as well. It was one of the reasons why England were able to get rid of T20 World Cup voodoo and emerged victorious in the 2022 edition.

Despite the popularity of the word, coined after his name, McCullum is not an impressed man. On multiple occasions, he has called the usage of the word rather 'silly'..

Source : WIO News

Published On : November 1, 2023
Advertisement