Time to answer Bazball's biggest question — can it beat the very best?
When Brendon McCullum interviewed for the England job over Zoom, he did so in a baseball cap and T-shirt, and his message was a disarmingly simple one: pressurise the opposition with the bat, look to take wickets with the ball, and chase every ball as hard as possible in the field. Shorn of buzzwords, bullshit, soundbites and mission statements, the interview panel was captivated by McCullum's charisma and clarity.
After the stultifying restrictions of the Covid years, England's cricketers (as well as others) were ready for some informality. For three years, dress-down cricket — or Bazball — has produced some startling results: since Ben Stokes took on the captaincy, his win percentage stands comparison with any England captain, and better than all but a couple
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
14 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
England to beat West Indies and both score 180+ runs in their final T20 international BOOSTED to 11/2 - as Harry Brook's side look to complete series clean sweep
England will be aiming to complete a series clean sweep when they face West Indies in their final T20 international at the Ageas Bowl on Tuesday. Harry Brook's side chased down 197 in Bristol on Sunday to wrap up a series victory after beating West Indies by 21 runs in Durham two days earlier. Both teams have strong batting line-ups, and we could be set for another high-scoring game to round off the series. Sky Bet are offering three Price Boosts, including England and West Indies to both score 180+ runs, which is now priced at 9/2. Jos Buttler, Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell to all score 2+ sixes has also been boosted to 12/1. Buttler has looked back to his best after being replaced by Brook as captain, and hit 96 in the first T20 match on Thursday. Bethell then smashed an eye-catching 26 off 10 balls on Sunday, with his knock including three sixes. England to win the match and both teams to score 180+ runs has been boosted to 11/2 from 9/2. Sky Bet have also boosted the odds for both teams to hit a six each in their first to overs, from 7/2 to 9/2. Sky Bet Price Boosts for England vs West Indies Jos Buttler, Harry Brook and Jacob Bethell to hit 2+ sixes each - WAS 10/1 NOW 12/1 Both teams to hit a six each in their first two overs - WAS 7/2 NOW 9/2 England to win the match and both teams to score 180+ runs WAS 9/2 NOW 11/2
Daily Mail
15 minutes ago
- Daily Mail
Love Island viewers grow tired of Shakira joke minutes into launch episode as they complain 'we're going to hear it all series!'
Love Island viewers have revealed they are 'already annoyed' after two jokes were made about a contestant's name. Construction project manager Shakira, 26, was one of the first Islanders to make her way into the villa as the new series kicked off on Monday. But quick off the mark a joke was made about her name, as a fellow Islander referenced iconic popstar Shakira. While introducing herself to one of the girls, Shakira revealed her name and Sophie Lee replied: 'Oo and your hips don't lie.' Just minutes later another similar joke was made again - and fans of the show were left rolling their eyes at the prospect of it continuing all series. From A-list scandals and red carpet mishaps to exclusive pictures and viral moments, subscribe to the Daily Mail's new showbiz newsletter to stay in the loop. They wrote on X, formerly Twitter: 'Are they gonna sing "shakira shakira" all the time,'; 'Gonna be hearing the Shakira references the whole season aren't we,'; '"hips don't lie shakira shakira" STOP,'; 'They're 1000% gonna wear out the Shakira jokes i can feel it,'; 'I'm already annoyed by how many times they are going to make the Shakira joke,'; '"them hips don't lie" "shakira shakira" i know she's tired,'; 'We are gonna hear Shakira Shakira all season aren't we,'; 'The Shakira references are going to get old let's stop that now,'; '"My name is Shakira" ABSOLUTELY EVERYBODY "oooo them hips don't lie",'; 'Can we get some new material or is it just gonna be Shakira Shakira my hips don't lie all summer.' The latest installment of the reality dating show begins on Monday night with host Maya Jama set to introduce a new batch of sexy singletons looking for love. The ladies - Shakira, Meg, Alima, Sophie, Megan and Helena - are first to enter the villa with talk soon turning to the boys they could potentially couple up with. However, in contrast to recent series, it won't be the viewers that will be picking the couples, but instead the girls will be tasked with choosing their boys based on their dating profiles. Explaining the huge change, Maya tells the girls: 'This year things are slightly different. You've told me what your type on paper is, but does that match your ideal man in reality? Come and join me by the pool.' As the girls line up, she continues: 'Girls, in front of you there are six love hearts and each boy has given me their dating profile which is written on each of these hearts - shall we have a look at what these boys have to offer?' The girls then check out the descriptions of the island's boys - Ben, Dejon, Harry, Conor, Blu and Tommy. They then have to decide to who they'd like to pair up with based on key stats with the boys' name, age, job and a headline. Headlines includes lines such as: 'I like to play hard and work harder! I love to play, so I work very hard...' in order to help the girls make their big decisions. After discussing the boys' profiles and attempting to figure out which lad could be right for them, Maya then forces them to make their choice. Counting to three, the stunner informs the ladies that they must run to their chosen heart, with only one girl allowed to stand next to each heart. With mere seconds to make their choice, it remains to be seen whether they get the man of their choice or will be left to beg for a swap. Meanwhile, following the decisions, the boys then enter the villa and meet their matches one-by-one. NAME: Sophie Lee AGE: 29 FROM: Manchester OCCUPATION: Motivational Speaker and Author WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is fun, spontaneous, who has a lot of jokes and who is attentive. At the moment I'm only finding ones draped in red flags and 'do not cross' signs IF YOU WERE THE CEO OF SOMETHING, WHAT WOULD IT BE? I'm the CEO of empowerment. I want women to feel beautiful and validated in themselves and feel their best self. NAME: Dejon Noel Williams AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Semi-pro footballer and personal trainer WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is beautiful on the inside and out, looks after themselves and is healthy CLAIM TO FAME? My dad being an ex-professional footballer. I've met all kinds of famous people through him. When I was younger it was weird because he was just my dad, but we'd go to a game and fans were asking for photos. I've met David Beckham, he was really nice. Megan Moore NAME: Megan Moore AGE: 25 FROM: Southampton OCCUPATION: Payroll specialist WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'd like to meet someone who is tall, with a nice tan, nice eyes and a nice smile. He needs to have a good fashion sense and a really good, funny personality that I can get on with HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt, right now. But we're going to make sales and get on that corporate ladder and be booming. Profits, profits, profits! NAME: Tommy Bradley AGE: 22 FROM: Hertfordshire OCCUPATION: Landscape Gardener WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A girl who is very ambitious, with a big personality, caring, but also someone that doesn't take themselves too seriously. I don't know if that's asking for too much, but I want a bit of everything. I haven't got a specific type in terms of looks, though. WHAT WOULD YOU BE CEO OF? Taking hours to do my hair NAME: Alima Gagio AGE: 23 FROM: Glasgow OCCUPATION: Wealth Management Client Services Executive WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? A tall man with a handsome face. You know when you just look at a guy and they have that Disney prince look to them? That's it WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I think she'd hire me because I'm a good flirt. I always ask guys on a night out to guess which country I'm originally from. If they get it right, they can get my number. But they never guess correctly so it works really well if you don't want to give a guy your number. I'm originally from Guinea Bissau. If they're close and I really fancy them, I'll give them my number anyway. NAME: Ben Holbrough AGE: 23 FROM: Gloucester OCCUPATION: Private Hire Taxi driver WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone sexy, good looking, good chat, good vibes, nice teeth and good eye contact - they're all the traits I look for. Oh, and also a cute smile, I just look at you and know I can be around you all day, every day. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Bankrupt. I'd have been out of business a long time ago. That's exactly why I'm here. NAME: Helena Ford AGE: 29 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Cabin Crew WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Somebody funny or Northern. I feel like Northern people have much more banter than Southerners. If you look through my previous dating history, you'll see I clearly go for personality. You can pretty much laugh me into bed. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? I would say hire but then quickly fire soon after. It would only be a temporary contract. NAME: Megan Forte Clarke AGE: 24 FROM: Dublin OCCUPATION: Musical theatre performer and energy broker WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who doesn't take themselves too seriously and has a sense of humour. If they're not bad looking, that's always a plus. I love a boy that's a bit pasty, like Timothée Chalamet. I don't mind scrawny, or a bit of a 'dad bod'. I'm 5ft1 so any height really. CLAIM TO FAME? Me and my friends made a Derry Girls TikTok for Halloween and it went a bit viral around Brighton. Sometimes I get stopped in the street about it. I've also done Panto. NAME: Blu Chegini AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is family oriented, has a lot of love to give and a lot of love to receive. Personality goes a long way. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? She'd fire me, but I've got the charm to smooth things over with a girl. The fact I speak fluent Spanish comes in handy when it comes to flirting! NAME: Shakira Khan AGE: 26 FROM: London OCCUPATION: Construction Project Manager WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone who is tall, charming, witty, with big arms, a good smile and just really funny. HOW WOULD YOU DESCRIBE YOUR LOVE LIFE? Booming, but they're all frogs. It's a busy love life but I've not found 'the husband', I'm looking for 'the one'. I'm looking for the ring. NAME: Harry Cooksley AGE: 30 FROM: Guildford OCCUPATION: Gold trader, semi-professional footballer and model WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? The girl next door that makes me laugh and can hold eye contact with me. I don't think I'd go for the most obvious girl, I like a real sweet girl. CLAIM TO FAME? I'm the body double for Declan Rice. So when he does a shoot, any body close ups will actually be me. You'll never see my face, but you'll see my shoulder or chest, that kind of thing. NAME: Conor Phillips AGE: 23 FROM: Limerick OCCUPATION: Professional rugby player WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR?Someone who is really sure of themselves, ambitious, a bit of a go-getter and good craic. I like dark eyes and I don't mind a dominant woman. WOULD MAYA HIRE YOU FOR YOUR FLIRTING SKILLS? Definitely hire. I ask girls if they want to go halves on a baby. It doesn't work, but it gets them laughing. It's an ice-breaker, not a serious question of course! NAME: Toni Laites AGE: 24 FROM: Connecticut OCCUPATION: Las Vegas Pool Cabana Server WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? I'm looking for darker hair, definitely muscular but not too muscular. Super fit. Clean hair cut. Someone that can make me laugh - I'm super outgoing. And someone that's quite active. Maybe one day we could start our own family together. I WANT TO DATE A BRITISH GUY BECAUSE... I've lived in three different states and I'm still single. It's time to try something new! I have some British friends and they're pretty charming. I think all Americans love a good accent. British men are just more polite, with better manners. NAME: Kyle Ashman AGE: 23 FROM: Stafford OCCUPATION: Water operative WHAT ARE YOU LOOKING FOR? Someone that's fun, confident and just themselves. I'd say I'd be hired. I just go with it, find something to compliment a girl on and go from there.
The Sun
27 minutes ago
- The Sun
Love Island star offends viewers within seconds as she makes shock comment about 9-5 jobs
LOVE Island is back for the summer on ITV2 and ITVX and one of its brand new contestants has already managed to annoy viewers. Shakira Khan, 22, entered the villa first alongside Meg Moore, 25, and the two ladies wasted no time getting to know each other. 5 5 Trying to learn what they both did for a living, Shakira set about telling Megan that she was 'too glamorous for a 9-5' and must do something more exciting for a job. Meg quickly set her straight revealing she was in fact a payroll specialist, with Shakira squealing that she was a "corporate girlie". Why the comment might have sounded innocent to some, viewers at home were not impressed. One user wrote: "not too glamorous for a 9-5, oh dear". Another person asked: "what does 'too glamorous to do a 9-5 even mean?". Someone else agreed, also wondering: "Too gorgeous to do a 9-5??? What does that mean?" In a shock move, one singleton has already been booted out of the villa - and viewers are convinced they know who it is due to a big clue. The girl was told to grab her case and go after the arrival of bombshell Antonia Laites - who will be known as Toni in the show. In scenes yet to be aired, Toni - who is American - will make her dramatic entrance after all the islanders are coupled up. She is told to get to know the boys before choosing one to couple up with - leaving his girl being handed a one-way ticket back to the UK. 5 5
