England ‘over-prepared’, claims Brendon McCullum after crushing second Test loss

Brendon McCullum bizarrely claimed England “trained too much” ahead of the second Ashes Test in Brisbane amid fierce criticism of their preparations in Australia.

Lord Botham, Sir Geoffrey Boycott and Michael Vaughan were among former players to question England having just one warm-up match before they started the series with a two-day defeat in Perth.

England’s decision not to send some of their senior figures to a pink-ball tune-up in Canberra last weekend also raised eyebrows and their hopes of regaining the urn are now hanging by a thread after losing by eight wickets at the Gabba.

However, McCullum, whose charges now head to Noosa for a break on Tuesday before the must-win third Test in Adelaide in two weeks, hinted England were mentally jaded in Brisbane after overexerting themselves in the nets.

Asked if he would have done anything differently, England’s head coach told the BBC’s Test Match Special: “Not from a preparation point of view. If anything we probably trained too much.

“We had five intense training sessions leading into the game and that’s something as a coach you’ve got make sure you’re aware of. Sometimes there’s a tendency to want to do overdo things to make up for it.”

He added on Australia’s Channel 7: “I actually feel like we over-prepared to be honest. Sometimes when you’re in the heat of the battle, the most important thing is to feel a little bit fresh and make sure your top two inches are completely sound.

“I think the boys just need a few days off and we probably need to change up a few of the training methods.”

McCullum’s comments attracted ridicule on social media and former England captain Kevin Pietersen seemed in disbelief, quoting the New Zealander before writing on X: “Crikey Baz.”

Before McCullum addressed the media on Sunday, Botham delivered a withering critique of their efforts.

The former all-rounder told Australian radio station Triple M Cricket: “If I was an England supporter and had paid the money to come here, I’d be asking the ECB for a refund because this team, to me, is not prepared.”

England have not beaten Australia since 2015, although Ben Stokes’ side came from 2-0 down two years ago to claim a 2-2 draw on home soil, and McCullum insisted they will not panic this time around.

He said on TMS: “We’ve been here before and we’ll have to make sure we stay tight as a group and iron out a couple of the chinks we’ve shown over the last two Test matches.

“It’s very hard to beat Australia at home if you’re going to be deficient in all three areas. We’ve got some work to do. There’s no point feeling sorry for yourself, you pick yourself up and you go again.”