🔗 Share this article

The England head coach loathed the label Bazball from its inception, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

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

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.