'Oh man, that's garbage': Labuschagne on Bazball's addition to English dictionary

The term 'Bazball' was on Wednesday added to the Collins dictionary to recognise the fearless and aggressive style of play adopted by the England men's cricket team – particularly during this year's Ashes series – under the leadership of red-ball coach Brendon McCullum. McCullum, the former New Zealand captain and opener affectionately known as 'Baz,' took charge as England's Test coach in May 2022.

'Bazball' is now officially listed as a noun in the dictionary, defined as "a test cricket style where the batting side aims to seize the initiative by playing in an exceptionally aggressive manner." Despite the term's inclusion in the dictionary, McCullum himself wasn't particularly fond of it.

However, it seems the move hasn't gone down well with a certain few in the cricketing community; and most certainly Australian cricketer Marnus Labuschagne, who expressed his disapproval regarding the decision. The right-handed batter shared his skepticism over the move as he prepares to face their arch-rivals in the upcoming 2023 World Cup match scheduled for Saturday in Ahmedabad.

"Oh man, that is garbage. I don't know what that is, honestly," Labuschagne said in a reply to a question about the same.

Bazball was one of Collins' 10 words of the year and was also shortlisted for the Word of the Year but lost out to AI (artificial intelligence). It was also named by Harper Collins as one of the 10 most significant new words of the year.

While the word 'Bazball' has already been added to the online version of the dictionary, it will be included in the next edition of the physical dictionary.

Australia are currently third in the points table with four wins in six matches, and will look to further strengthen its place in the points table when they face an out-of-form English team at the iconic Narendra Modi Stadium. England are reeling at the bottom of the table with only two points in six matches, and are on the brink of elimination. Labuschagne, however, believes that England could be a tough competitor because they've got nothing to lose. "If there's ever a team that's dangerous when they're down and out," said the Aussie batter.