Brendon McCullum has claimed his England side “overprepared” for the second Ashes Test, in which they fell to a thumping eight-wicket defeat by Australia at the Gabba.

England headed into the second Test needing to show some fight after their two-day loss in the first Test in Perth, and while Joe Root did score his first century in Australia, England were roundly beaten as they could only set Australia 65 to win despite showing more resistance on day four in Brisbane.

That total was chased down inside 10 overs, giving the hosts a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Prior to the second Test, questions were raised over England’s preparation to face the pink ball in the day-night Test, with some asking whether some of their top order batters, who had been struggling, should have headed to Canberra to play in a two-day match against a Prime Minister’s XI.

However, England opted against this and their batting has continued to raise eyebrows after a top-order collapse late on day three had the tourists limping towards another heavy defeat.

Head coach McCullum believes England actually trained “too much” ahead of the second Test and will now look at changing his methods to ensure they are “fresh” as they look to save the series in Adelaide from December 16.

“We will have a beer tonight. I think leading into this Test match I actually felt like we overprepared to be honest,” McCullum told 7Cricket.

“We had five intense training days and sometimes when you are 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.

“I am a horse racing man, and you wouldn’t just keep doing the same thing with your horse.

“We will look at some alternative methods over the next couple of days. We have got a couple of days in Noosa so it will be nice to spend a few days casually and let the dust settle on what has been on what has been a pretty intense couple of weeks and start playing our way back into the series.”

Ashes series in Australia 2025-26

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