🔗 Share this article

Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling 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. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only 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 exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.