🔗 Share this article

The England head coach despised the label Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to block out outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates 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 frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by McCullum's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar 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 the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.