🔗 Share this article

The England head coach despised the label Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to ignore external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. 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 to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.