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Clarke felt that England head coach Brendon McCullum had a point when he said that the team may have "over-prepared" going into the second Test. (AP Photo)
Among the many talking points going into the Ashes was the fact that England had chosen not to play a single first class match in Australia in order to acclimatise to the conditions. England have ended up being wiped out in the first two Tests and are trailing 2-0 going into the third. Former Australia captain Michael Clarke has said that the number of catches that England were dropping, particularly in the second Test, showed that they needed more preparation going into the series.
“When you’re dropping catches, that’s concentration. Heavy legs on the bowlers, bowling your second or third spell … that’s time on your feet in the field,” he said on Code Sports. While Joe Root’s century had put England in a fairly strong position on Day 1 of the pink-ball Test, they dropped as many as five catches on Day 2 as Australia turned the tables on them.
“So yes, England might have hit enough balls in the nets and bowled enough balls, but for me, they hadn’t played enough long-form cricket leading into this series, and that’s why I think their preparation’s been questioned.”
Clarke, however, felt that England head coach Brendon McCullum had a point when he said that the team may have “over-prepared” going into the second Test. It has been followed by visuals of England players enjoying some down time at Noosa Heads Main Beach, just under 150km north of Brisbane. Naturally, the visuals have been met with criticism from England fans and the players have been derided on Australian media but Clarke feels that McCullum may not have meant what it sounded like he was saying.
“I think what Brendon probably meant was we overtrained,“ Clarke said. “I don’t think you can ever over-prepare, especially when you’re chasing success. So, the boys are now trying to work out the right balance.
“But from a fan’s perspective, of course, you can understand why England fans would be asking questions around their preparation before a ball was bowled in the series. Not playing enough first-class cricket, and then a two-day match in Perth, not sending the boys to Canberra … and now losing in Brisbane and playing some golf or sitting on the beach instead of getting stuck into the nets or playing a game.”
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