🔗 Share this article

The England head coach despised the label Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.