Not over, not under, just outplayed: McCullum's silly excuse hides England's real enemy

Brendon McCullum's excuse masks England's real problem [Source: AFP Photos]

“Self-pity is our worst enemy, and if we yield to it, we can never do anything wise in this world.” - Helen Keller.

After England were brushed aside in the first two Tests of the Ashes 2025, Brendon McCullum offered a surprising explanation that his team was “overprepared.” 

It was a line that irked millions, not just because of the heavy defeats, but because of an obvious contradiction that England didn’t even send most of their regular players to play in a proper pink-ball warm-up match just days ago.

So what exactly were they “overprepared” for?

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England’s real enemy is their own mindset

If anything, England looked undercooked when it came to handling pressure, movement and Australian intensity under lights. The real issue wasn’t about how many sessions they had in the nets or how detailed their planning was. 

The problem was far more basic and far more uncomfortable to admit that England’s mindset simply wasn’t built for difficult conditions.

Bazball has been sold as a fearless, aggressive way of playing Test cricket. When the pitch is flat, the sun is out, and the ball is doing little, it looks exciting and even revolutionary. 

But when the deck has life in it, when the pink ball swings under lights, when the crowd is loud, when the bowlers don’t miss their lengths, that same approach starts to look careless and confused.

In the first two Tests, Australia, without their frontline pacers, didn’t do anything extraordinary. They just did the basics better. They bowled in the right areas. They didn’t panic when they lost wickets. 

They played the conditions instead of fighting them. England, on the other hand, looked like a side waiting for things to go their way rather than forcing the game through discipline. 

Preparation isn’t just about training camps and practice games. Preparation is mental. It’s about accepting that sometimes you won’t score at five and over. 

It’s about leaving balls, absorbing pressure and surviving tough spells. Australia understood that. England seemed offended by the idea.

Loopholes in Brendon McCullum’s nonsensical excuse

(Table: England's warm-up games count in above mentioned tours)

The claim of being “overprepared” almost feels like a defence mechanism, a way to avoid having the harder conversation. Because if the real reason is mindset, then the solution isn’t a new net session or a different practice schedule. It requires humility, patience, and a reset of attitude.

This isn’t a new story either. England’s record in Australia has been poor for decades, whether they played two warm-up games or ten. The number of practice matches has never really changed the outcome, not only in Australia, but on other tours as well.

What has always mattered is temperament. The Australian or any oversea conditions demand respect, and England arrive looking like a team that think vibes and confidence alone would be enough.

England must face the uncomfortable truth

And that’s where Bazball starts to crack. It is a philosophy built on momentum and positivity, but Test cricket in Australia doesn’t reward optimism. It rewards endurance. It rewards control. It rewards the boring, unglamorous art of survival.

England weren’t underprepared. They weren’t overprepared. They were simply outplayed, mentally, technically, and tactically. Until that truth is accepted, no amount of planning will save them in this Ashes or the next.

The sooner England stops blaming the preparation, the sooner they can start fixing the one thing that actually matters, which is their approach to the game itself.

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