Friday, February 13, 2026

Bazball to Revsball, James Oates relishes England hockey’s fearless approach

Monchengladbach — Comparison monikers don’t always work across sports. Take Bazball, English cricket’s phrase coined by a Cricinfo‘s UK editor to describe the revolution under Brendan McCullum and Ben Stokes over the last 18 months. Yet, the style of play is so in tune with English and GB men’s hockey right now, that players have no problem with the similarities.

It started at the Men’s World Cup in India in January when Sam Ward said that England had “gone down the ‘Bazball’ mentality” with their fearless brand of hockey. The players know (Ward is a huge cricket fan) the impact it has had.

James Oates, who scored a cracking hit on the turn, agrees. And although England have yet to win a tournament outright, unlike their men’s cricket counterparts, it seems logical to term it as Revsball. 

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