Brendon McCullum has claimed that the England side “overprepared” for the second Ashes Test, which suffered an eight-wicket defeat to Australia at the Gabba.
England went into the second Test needing to show some fight after losing the first Test in Perth for two days. While Joe Root scored his first century for Australia, England suffered a disastrous defeat as they could only set Australia out for 65 despite showing more resistance on the fourth day in Brisbane.
They chased down this total to within 10 overs, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.
Questions arose ahead of the second Test about England’s preparations for the pink ball in the day-night Test, and whether some of their struggling top-order batsmen should have traveled to Canberra to play in the two-day match against the Prime Minister’s XI.
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Nasser Hussain left perplexed by Olly Pope’s dismissal on day two of second Ashes Test
However, England disagreed and their batting has continued to raise eyebrows since their top order collapsed late on the third day, leaving the tourists limping towards another heavy defeat.
Head coach McCullum believes England have actually “overtrained” for the second Test and will consider changing their methods to ensure they are “fresh” in a bid to salvage the series in Adelaide from December 16.
“I’m going to have a beer tonight. To be honest, I think I felt like I was over-prepared for this Test match,” McCullum told 7Cricket.
“We had five days of intensive training, and sometimes the most important thing in the heat of a fight is to feel a little fresh and make sure the top two inches are completely sound.
“I think the players need a few days off and maybe some changes to their training methods.
“I love horse racing, but I can’t just keep doing the same thing with my horses.
“We’ll be looking at some alternatives over the next few days. We’ve got a few days in Noosa, so it would be nice to take a few days casually, calm down what has been a pretty intense few weeks and start our way back into the series.”
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