A raft of legendary “has-beens” have taken aim at England and their brainless Bazball tactics in the wake of the tourists’ insipid two-day implosion in the series-opening Ashes clash in Perth.
But England coach Brendon McCullum remains defiant, declaring his team won’t be changing their “blueprint” despite blowing a winning position on the way to the crushing eight-wicket loss.
England lost the opening battle on the back of two calamitous batting collapses and Travis Head striking the equal sixth-fastest century in Test history.
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With the extra three days up their sleeve now, and after such an underwhelming performance, former England captain Alastair Cook has urged the front-line players in the squad to take part in the upcoming two-day tour match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra.
“There are 12 days now until the second Test and in this situation I would want to go and play in the pink-ball game against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, not just leave it to the Lions players,” he wrote in The Times.
“It can be an uncomfortable decision as you are opening yourself up to failing again, but putting yourself under pressure can have long-term benefits.
“However much you practise in the nets, you cannot replicate the feeling of time in the middle.”
But Nasser Hussain, one of Cook’s predecessors as England skipper, told Sky Sports that’s unlikely.
“I don’t see them changing too much, to be honest. It’s not a side that over reacts and changes,” he said.
“They’ve got a lot of time off now; there’s a two-day game in Canberra that I don’t think any of them are going to go and play, so they’re going to have a lot of time.
“It’s how they handle that time and how you get away from this, but also come together and be ready for Brisbane.
“(Zak) Crawley bagged a pair, and they have built Crawley up and they’ve saved Crawley and they’ve let Crawley be, for this Ashes series. They believe that Crawley would go well in Australia because of the type of player he is.
“But two in two, he’s got two ducks, so he’s going to have to really dig deep and work out you can’t be driving at Mitchell Starc in the first over of an Ashes Test, because that will cause you problems.”
Ben Stokes hopes to leave the first-Test baggage in Perth and is already focusing on Brisbane. Credit: AAP McCullum’s men lost 5-12 late in the first innings to be bowled out for 172 on Day 1.
They regained the advantage after skittling Australia for 132 early on day two, and England were on track for a big lead after cruising to 1-65 in their second innings.
But a collapse of 5-23 brought about their undoing, with their Bazball approach backfiring as Australia roared back into the contest.
The hosts’ victory target of 205 was a walk in the park courtesy of Head, who reached his century in just 69 balls and finished with 123 off 83 deliveries.
England’s preparation for the series – which consisted of a sole three-day warm-up match on a lifeless wicket at Lilac Hill – was widely panned by some of the country’s greatest cricketers.
Stokes hit back at those greats by calling them “has-beens”.
Those same legends were lining up thick and fast to lay into the team following the hapless loss in Perth.
“Before this series started Ben Stokes told the world that any ex-players who criticised England or had a different opinion were “has-beens” because Test cricket had changed and the past was irrelevant,” England Test legend Geoffrey Boycott wrote in The Telegraph.
“Well, from this has-been, the message is simple: when you keep throwing away Test matches by doing the same stupid things it is impossible to take you seriously.
“They never learn, because they never listen to anyone outside their own bubble, because they truly believe their own publicity.
“It is simple. Brainless batting and bowling lost England the match.”
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Captain Ben Stokes’ five-wicket haul was quickly forgotten as England capitulated to Australia. Credit: AAP Former England Test captain Michael Vaughan feels the nature of the loss will leave some scars.
“This is going to hurt England, it’s going to damage them I think,” Vaughan said.
“Ben Stokes won’t really understand what’s happened.
“They have the tools to be really competitive, but you can’t be competitive without brains.”
But McCullum is standing firm by England’s Bazball tactics, adamant it’s the best path forward for the team.
“To be honest I thought 200 was a good score, I thought it was a very defendable score,” McCullum told BBC Sport.
“We’ve got some work to do, no doubt. But one thing we won’t be changing is our blueprint, we’ll stay true to that.”
Former England captain Alastair Cook is urging the team’s frontline players to feature in the upcoming two-day, day-night fixture against a Prime Minister XI outfit in Canberra, starting on November 29, rather than field a second XI side.
The day-night Ashes Test at the Gabba begins on December 4.
Stokes defended his team’s aggressive approach in Perth, believing it proved to be the best way to handle the tricky conditions.
“The guys who had success out on the middle were the ones who were brave enough to take the bowlers on and get them off their length,” Stokes said.
“Anyone who tried to stay around there and tried to occupy the crease with a lot of time didn’t seem to have too much success.”
Stokes has told his team to embrace the pain of the two-day defeat.
But he doesn’t want them to hold on to the disappointment for long, saying they can’t afford to carry baggage into Brisbane.