🔗 Share this article

Brendon McCullum despised the term Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

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

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, 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. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help 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 – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.