England's training intensified at Adelaide Oval, with Brendon McCullum leading energetic fielding drills. Photo / Kerry Marshall, Photosport
As England began their first training session at Adelaide Oval at the weekend, there was an extra intensity and energy, as well as a few drills not seen for some weeks, about their fielding practice.
This was nothing new, but it was a step up from what England have displayed lately. In recent times, including on this tour, England have tended to net long and hard, and their slip fielders practise a lot of catches, but intense fielding drills covering other positions are seen less regularly. A bit, but not masses.
The head coach, Brendon McCullum, was at the heart of it all, whacking catches into the sky for fielders to chase, whooping and hollering as the ball was returned to wicketkeeper Jamie Smith, who has drawn criticism for his passive demeanour. McCullum was certainly getting Smith into the game.
Discussions around England’s preparation have never been far away on this tour, from their truncated three-day warm-up at Lilac Hill, to declining pink-ball middle practice in Canberra, via McCullum’s surprising claim that they trained too much before the Gabba Test. McCullum said on Sunday that the perception that England go about things in “a very casual manner … couldn’t be further from the truth”.
Nevertheless, there are a few possible interpretations for why this spark of energy arrived now. It could be that England knew they had some cobwebs to blow off after their four-day jaunt without cricket bags to Noosa, on the glorious Sunshine Coast. It could also be that they are staring down the barrel in this series, and know that there is no time to waste. Or it could be that after a horrid fielding display at the Gabba, McCullum has awoken to the need for serious, specialised training and coaching.
In almost four years in charge, McCullum’s method has been to empower his players, attempting to declutter crowded minds by removing unnecessary noise. In his first week in the role, England’s nutritionist, part of the furniture for much of the professional era, was told she would be working at arm’s length, rather than on-site with the team. Other roles have been stripped away since. This is an attitude likely inspired by McCullum’s native New Zealand, where resource was not so plentiful and players had to make the best of themselves.
Largely, this approach has worked well for England. McCullum is more manager and motivator than coach. He has always kept a small group of trusted lieutenants, such as his compatriot Jeetan Patel and batting guru Marcus Trescothick. They work hard, but the environment is player-led: they receive guidance and motivation, but are expected to solve problems themselves.
On this tour, the method seems to have come unstuck. Australia was where they needed strong coaching. The squad lacked experience in these conditions, with just five players surviving from the last tour of Australia. One of those, Mark Wood, has now flown home. Two more, Zak Crawley and Ollie Pope, were in and out of the side in 2021-22 and have not cracked Test cricket after 60 matches. Since the last tour, England willingly jettisoned plenty of experience – some positive, some negative – in Australia, such as Jimmy Anderson, Jonny Bairstow, Ollie Robinson and Jack Leach. Of his own volition, Stuart Broad retired.
Instead, England have come with a patchwork coaching team. Patel and Trescothick are here, although the former looks after spinners when England barely pick them, and the latter revealed during the Brisbane Test that the batsmen were not discussing their injudicious driving. Paul Collingwood, the long-time assistant with a fielding speciality, is no longer with the team. McCullum alone deals with Smith’s keeping, where once Bruce French would drill Bairstow and Ben Foakes to within an inch of their lives.
Then we come to the bowling. The seam attack was at once long-planned and thrown together. Since the reset of July 2024, when James Anderson was retired, this was the group, more or less, that England wanted to bring to Australia. But injuries meant they had never been in the same squad before, or had that opportunity to groove partnerships. Only Mark Wood, now on the way home injured, and Ben Stokes had even played a Test in Australia before this tour.
Furthermore, both Anderson and his long-time partner Stuart Broad have observed since the start of this tour that England’s attack lacks a natural leader. In the meantime, Chris Woakes had stepped up, but his shoulder injury and record in Australia combined to rule him out – even though he is back playing T20 in the UAE. Jofra Archer is left as the de facto attack leader, but has not even played 50 first-class matches, and none of them in Australia before Perth.
This was an attack that required stability and guidance. Instead, Anderson was a consultant for a few months, then Tim Southee, McCullum’s former New Zealand teammate, stepped in for the summer. He did the first Ashes Test, then left to play in the ILT20. When that is done, he is expected to return for the Sydney Test. Australia have endured a similar issue, with assistant coach Daniel Vettori, another Kiwi, heading to the UAE for Tuesday’s IPL auction as the boss of Sunrisers Hyderabad (will he bid for English players?). These are the times we live in, but that does not make them comfortable.
As cover, England roped in the clubbable Australian David Saker, who was part of the backroom staff for the 2010-11 Ashes win (and the 2013-14 whitewash that followed). But he was not first choice, with Dale Steyn among those unavailable.
It has been a scrappy tour for England, on and off the field. On Sunday, we saw some strong coaching as they returned to training. On a tour where England needed preparation and planning, they have one game to prove it has not come too late.
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