In 2022 Brendon McCullum (Baz) became the head coach of England’s struggling Test Match cricket team. With this change in coach came a drastic shift in playing style. McCullum challenged England to play Test Match cricket like it had never been played before. He drove an ultra-aggressive approach that was built around attempting to dominate the opposition from start to finish. And striving to win every match, no matter the risks involved. This brand was very quickly coined Bazball. Never had a coach pushed such a radical approach for a format that has traditionally been about patience, attrition, and grit. The result was England turning round their fortunes and becoming a formidable outfit. As well as many England players performing at a high level they had never previously reached. The Bazball story speaks to the value of clear gameplans in sport and the importance of Sports Mental Coaching.
Why Do Gameplans Matter?
There are undoubtedly many contributing factors that led to England’s turnaround under McCullum. One them was the clarity of gameplans that England players were given because of the extreme approach that McCullum pushed.
Focus on Execution
With McCullum’s ultra-aggressive approach came very clear gameplans for all England players. The instructions were simple and concise – go hard, transfer pressure, and win. In every situation, England players knew exactly what was expected of them. An advantage of this from a sports mental coaching perspective is that when out in the middle, players were not wasting mental energy trying to work out how they should play certain situations. Instead, all their focus and mental energy was geared towards execution in the moment.
Conviction and Commitment
Bazball is so radical that it allows no room for second-guessing. As such, the England players were forced to be totally committed to the gameplan. All too often in sport we see athletes failing because the noise in their mind (that is caused by a lack of a gameplan) prevents their bodies from executing a play with total conviction. In sports mental coaching, it is taught that total commitment to a play should be the focus rather than perfect technical execution. The England players have fully embraced Bazball and have reaped the rewards of being 100% committed to the gameplan. Rarely have they died wondering. Often the bounce of the ball has gone their way because of their unwavering commitment to the way they are trying to play.
Informs Preparation
Bazball also ensured that the England players knew exactly what they needed to do to prepare for matches. Practice the attacking options that they were going to use in games and get comfortable with being aggressive. This is another advantage of clear and concise gameplans – they inform the way we practice and prepare. In sports mental coaching its said that if you know exactly how you want to play then you know exactly how you need to prepare. Thus, your training time is maximised.
The Final Word
Bazball is a wonderful example of the heights that athletes are capable of when they are given a clear gameplan and when they commit fully to this gameplan. The Bazball approach isn’t the finished article. But like all good gameplans, it is continuously being refined and improved. The most important part is that it exists, and the players understand what is expected of them.
Many athletes spend all their preparation time working on the physical and technical aspects of their craft and no time on developing gameplans. They then wonder why they make bad decisions in the heat of the contest or get out-thought by the opposition.
By working with a Sports Mental Coach you can build your own gameplan so that you can prepare well, are fully focussed on execution in the heat of the battle, and perform with commitment and conviction.
