🔗 Share this article

Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball since it was coined, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat 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 words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format 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 busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.