🔗 Share this article

The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.