It’s not a secret that Hugh Jackman, renowned for his role as Wolverine, is a big fan of cricket. Last year, the Hollywood actor fulfilled his dream by attending an Ashes Test at The Oval in London. Jackman is currently basking in the success of his latest release, Deadpool & Wolverine, co-starring Ryan Reynolds. Jackman recently featured in an interview with BBC Radio 1 where he expressed his admiration for England’s Bazball playing style in Test cricket. The term Bazball refers to an aggressive brand of cricket, which was adopted by the English Test team in 2022 after Brendon McCullum became the head coach. The former New Zealand batter was nicknamed ‘Baz.’ While calmness has always been known as a fundamental aspect of the Test format, Bazball encourages cricketers to play with a liberated mindset.
Many former players and pundits criticised the style when the Ben Stokes-led England side started playing Tests with a fearless approach. It allows the batters to play unorthodox shots and score runs at a faster rate, which was previously quite rare in the longest format.
Hugh Jackman, however, has shown a thumbs-up to the strategy. “I will say something unpopular as an Aussie… I love Bazball,” the 55-year-old actor told BBC Radio 1.
The “Bazball” philosophy was on display in the last Ashes where England scripted a roaring comeback on home soil. They lost the first two Tests before winning the third match by three wickets at Leeds. After the fourth game ended in a draw, England triumphed in the last Test at The Oval, registering a 49-run victory. Australia will host the next Ashes, slated to begin in November 2025.
In their most recent assignment, England played a three-match Test series against the West Indies. The Ben Stokes-led side dominated the home series and registered a 3-0 whitewash. England will look to replicate the result when they take on Sri Lanka in another Test series. The first match will begin on August 21 at the Old Trafford Cricket Ground in Manchester.
England recently announced its playing XI for the first Test against Sri Lanka scheduled to be played in Manchester. In the absence of skippet Ben Stokes, Ollie Pope will lead the English cricket team.
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