🔗 Share this article

Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, 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, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful display.

Going by the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.