Overprepared. Overconfident. Overblown. Over there. And now just over. We know how this goes from here, don\u2019t we? We know this cycle.<\/p>\n
The days since England\u2019s defeat in Brisbane<\/a> have boiled down to a real-time competition to become the hate-click boss, to describe in the most sensual, eviscerating detail the depth of England\u2019s badness \u2013 not just at cricket, but at the molecular, existential level.<\/p>\n Right now everything is turned up to 11. Bring on the flamethrowers. Scour this filth from the earth. It\u2019s time to burn this Baz-house down. So we have pitch maps of shame, fifth-stump drive montages, deconstructions of the basic energy at the Gabba, when even the players\u2019 faces seemed to collapse, from handsome, alpha dogs romping out in mid\u2011afternoon, to weak-chinned lost souls under the evening lights, eyes hollow, hair straggly, like acid casualties at Woodstock.<\/p>\n We have a race to capture the exact styling of the end times. What will its epitaph be? The current favourite is Brendon McCullum\u2019s post-match TV interview, an experience that felt, in the moment, like having burning hot kebab skewers made entirely from vibes and golf driven into both eyeballs.<\/p>\n Even as McCullum said the thing \u2013 \u201cIf anything we overprepared\u201d \u2013 you could almost hear the clank of belts being loosed, steak knives sharpened. There it is. His we need to look at the data. His peace in our time. His we\u2019re ALL RIGHT, fist raised to the party conference hall.<\/p>\n So we can do the horror. But there is a problem here too, and a familiar one. There is rarely any suggestion of what to do next, or what parts to keep, just the urge to purge, to annihilate the dominant thesis. Reject. Reanimate the old ways. Concrete over the flaws of the present with the flaws of the past.<\/p>\n But what if there was another way? What if it was possible not just to say how England are bad, but why and how to improve it? Who would be the best person to tell us this, outside exasperated ex-pros and scalpel-penned hacks?<\/p>\n If we accept that the greatest flaw of the Baz-verse is its philistinism, the rejection of knowledge and theory, then the answer is probably someone with an actual interest in these things, meatheads v pointy heads.<\/p>\n Brendon McCullum (left), the England head coach, made himself a target for criticism by saying his side \u2018overprepared\u2019 before the Test in Brisbane. Photograph: Robbie Stephenson\/PA<\/p>\n Rob Ferley is a former Kent and Nottinghamshire spin bowler turned professional coach and one of the most innovative thinkers in English cricket. Ferley is outside Bazball. He also played with, respects and is fascinated by its grand wizard Rob Key. With Dr\u00a0James Wallace, lecturer in Sports Science at the University of Brighton, he has formed Square One Cricket<\/a>, a kind of sports science brains trust based at its Falmer campus facility.<\/p>\n As an antidote to the burn\u2011it-down dynamic, this page asked Ferley to come up with a state-of-Bazball briefing paper, evidence-based and drawing on current theory. So what do people who have spent a professional life trying to understand coaching culture think about a system that rejects it?<\/p>\n An important message. This is not an apologia for the regime, whose only real achievement in Australia so far is to have found a more extreme way of being bad. Factor in depth of resources, extended prep, the freedom to create an entire cult-like way of being. Fold in the fact England have won 13 of their past 39 Tests and one-day internationals, a win ratio worse than Ange Postecoglou at Spurs, worse than their predecessors, the Silverwood-Mott axis, who won 17 of their last 39 matches, and England aren\u2019t just bad right now, they\u2019re mega-bad.<\/p>\n Lose again in Adelaide and resigning on the spot is the only real\u00a0Bazball move left. Run towards\u00a0the carpet slippers. Be where your sofa is. So we can do the\u00a0horror, because the horror is real. But it is also reductive. What are the good parts here?<\/p>\n So we enter Part 1: What Bazball gets right. Even in the middle of failure, there has been one major gain. As Ferley puts it: \u201cBazball revolutionised how England feel. It\u2019s probably the best time ever to be an England cricketer. So that is genuinely remarkable, isn\u2019t it?\u201d<\/p>\n How did they do this? \u201cPlayers feel trusted, empowered and unburdened by fear of failure.\u201d Yes this sounds funny now, having collapsed like an overdunked biscuit<\/a> at first contact in Australia. But it is also a major achievement in English cricket, which has so often been hampered by the absence of these qualities.<\/p>\n Key to these early gains was Reinvestment theory and constraints-led approach. \u201cReinvestment theory suggests that overthinking technical details inhibits performance. Bazball\u2019s messaging \u2013 \u2018trust your game\u2019, \u2018play with freedom\u2019, \u2018express yourself\u2019 \u2013 limits this excessive cognitive load.\u201d Ben Duckett, for example. Did you really think he would average 40 as a Test opener? Duckett has been reinvested. He was ready for this.<\/p>\n We also have Positive self\u2011fulfilling prophecies, whereby: \u201cStokes and McCullum use belief as a weapon \u2026 The message is consistent: we believe in you. This creates belonging, identity and confidence.\u201d But we get into trickier ground under A values-oriented culture with its \u201cclear emphasis on the psychological and emotional domains. These are enjoyment, self-expression, connection, mental freedom, reduced fear.\u201d This may be falling apart right now, but it worked while it worked. \u201cIn short, Bazball is 85% built on solid evidence and powerful principles.\u201d But don\u2019t worry. \u201cThere are clear gaps\u201d where \u201cBazball is incomplete or unsupported by evidence\u201d.<\/p>\n The first is High support but low challenge. \u201cThe current environment is extremely supportive, but it seems to lack challenge. High support without high challenge creates comfort safety and enjoyment, but not necessarily excellence \u2026 the current model feels too comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n One example is the apparent lack of detail as opposed to simply energy. Zak Crawley has talked about picking up a mood on how to bat, never actually being told to get a quick 30, just sensing it was the right thing from the nature of McCullum\u2019s silence when he walks back into the dressing room. How\u2019s that going to break down under actual pressure?<\/p>\n Next is Lack of tactical adaptability and perceptual\u2011decision training. \u201cA constraints-led approach shouldn\u2019t mean absence of tactical development. England speak a language of freedom, but look unable to adapt when conditions change \u2026 they cannot change their approach under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n skip past newsletter promotion<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to our cricket newsletter for our writers’ thoughts on the biggest stories and a review of the week\u2019s action<\/p>\n Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. If you do not have an account, we will create a guest account for you on theguardian.com<\/a> to send you this newsletter. You can complete full registration at any time. For more information about how we use your data see our Privacy Policy<\/a>. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and the Google Privacy Policy<\/a> and Terms of Service<\/a> apply.<\/p>\n after newsletter promotion<\/p>\n One example this week was the Marcus Trescothick press conference, which featured statements such as: \u201cI don\u2019t think you should be looking too much at what the guys are trying to do\u201d \u2013 why not? \u2013 and \u201cno discussions took place about driving on the up\u201d. What to make of this after a Test where up to 15 wickets fell to balls that could have been left? Why have there been no discussions? Or just one discussion? This is literally the job.<\/p>\n Next problem, One-size-fits-all autonomy. \u201cAutonomy is preached, but the culture has converged on a single way of playing. The team ethos has become: \u2018This is how we play.\u2019 That risks suppressing penalising players who think or operate differently.\u201d<\/p>\n Think here of Ollie Pope, who would surely look happier under a different regime. As it is, nobody knows what Pope\u2019s real depths are, his actual core skills. Although it seems likely these might be resilience and slow craft. This is before we even get to Harry Brook, who is in danger of swallowing his own talent, always going for the sugar rush, shooting for the sun.<\/p>\n Ollie Pope gives the impression that his skillset would be more suited to a different England regime. Photograph: MB Media\/Getty Images<\/p>\n Speaking of which Overreliance on an \u2018entertainment-first\u2019 narrative. \u201cEntertainment matters, but high performance requires consequence. England sound like a team enjoying themselves more than a team striving to be the best.\u201d There is a surprising truth here. Bazball is dull. These are one-note iconoclasts, predictable mavericks, like a manufactured punk band snarling to order an American talkshow.<\/p>\n Most important of all perhaps is Psychological comfort without performance accountability. \u201cHigh performance requires consequence. If players are too safe it can lead to: complacency, reduced hunger, acceptance of mediocrity, overconfidence that becomes blind spots.\u201d<\/p>\n Stokes expressed surprise in Brisbane that England are bad at coping with pressure. Maybe this is because they don\u2019t allow themselves to foster it, but look instead like a team that have been told they are special and actually believe it.<\/p>\n As for Unclear values, well now we\u2019re talking. \u201cBazball has a vibe, an energy, a style \u2013 but what are the actual values? Entertainment? Positivity? Bravery? Winning? These are cultural traits, not performance values. Great teams have clear, explicit values that guide behaviour, decision-making and accountability.\u201d<\/p>\n This is the other thing England have achieved in Australia. They haven\u2019t just played badly \u2013 they have made themselves unusually unlikeable. Other England teams have lost like drowning men, lost like it hurt. This England team are still trying to be cool in defeat, to talk about going for beers in the sting of 2-0 down.<\/p>\n So we get on to Selection bias and favouritism risks. \u201cHigh belief encourages confidence \u2013 but it can also create blindspots. There is a risk of loyalty overriding objectivity, leading to a small pool of players being backed regardless of evidence.\u201d Selection is confusing. The message is: we will not select on runs and wickets. We will pick you on attitude. So go out there and play in a style that keeps you in the team. Haseeb Hameed, for example, has clearly been making the wrong kind of runs.<\/p>\n Finally we have Schedule narrative. \u201cThe constant commentary around the schedule may reinforce a self-fulfilling belief that England are uniquely fatigued. But is this evidence-based? It\u2019s unclear whether the schedule is uniquely difficult \u2013 or whether England believe it is because of their cultural echo chamber.\u201d<\/p>\n So despite talking about how much they play, England look short of games. They look fit but also tired and scrambled. In conclusion: \u201cBazball has transformed English cricket. It has rehabilitated confidence, restored identity and created a liberated environment. But the final 15% \u2013 tactical adaptability, challenge, accountability, perceptual development, value clarity and diversity of thought \u2013 is the difference between being inspiring and being world class.\u201d<\/p>\n That does sound about right, doesn\u2019t it? Or at least a more reasoned response to the sense of a team built as a monument to a single idea. For now England are probably right to take some time in Noosa, to relax and regroup and follow the only path they really have open to them at this stage. The motto of their chosen resort is \u201cplan, play, explore\u201d. Just don\u2019t expect this regime to do much more than the play part.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Overprepared. Overconfident. Overblown. Over there. And now just over. 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