Golf, beaches and nap-time: beaten England focus on R+R

MELBOURNE: Though 2-0 down in the Ashes after less than six days’ cricket, England will put away their playing kit to take a mini-break in the south Queensland resort town of Noosa before turning their focus to the do-or-die Test in Adelaide next week.

England’s laid-back buildup to the tour and shunning of practice matches has been viewed dimly by old-school players who queried whether the team was ready for a pink ball match before their eight-wicket thrashing by Australia at the Gabba.

Head coach Brendon McCullum conceded team management may indeed have got things wrong, but more for training too hard than too little.

That will be remedied over the next two days in a long-planned break on the idyllic Sunshine Coast north of Brisbane.

Having hit Western Australia’s golf links before being beaten by eight wickets in Perth, England’s enthusiasts will have access to a selection of championship courses to play a round before a refreshing dip in the Pacific Ocean.

“We’ve got a couple days in Noosa so we can spend some time together more casually and let the dust settle on what has been a pretty intense couple of weeks and start to plot and plan our way back into the series,” McCullum told host broadcaster Seven Network.

While the cricket has been tough, England players have enjoyed their down-time, with some taking e-scooters for a helmet-less ride through Brisbane streets.

England pace bowler Jofra Archer knows the value of good rest, having brought a pillow to the Gabba before day three.

Archer’s nap-time may have been pushed back a bit when Mitchell Starc scored 77 and the Australian tail hung on for most of the day’s play to rack up 511.

“There’s a great saying that I know – are you going to ‘train to train’ or are you going to train to dominate?” said England captain Ben Stokes.

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For the moment, all of the worries about England’s batting, bowling and fielding can be put aside.

Questions such as: Whether Ollie Pope should, or even can, be a number three Test batter, why Harry Brook continues to throw away his wicket and whether spinner Shoaib Bashir can even be considered for Adelaide after going wicketless for 115 runs in the England Lions match against Australia A in Brisbane.

England put down five catches in Australia’s first innings at the Gabba. Post-match, Stokes wondered why England kept losing in the pressure moments to Australia.

The stakes will be high in Adelaide where England must win to keep the series alive.

England fans will wait and see whether the solution to managing pressure is all about decompressing after all.

“It’s also very important that when you do get the opportunity you are able to go away and refresh your mind, because obviously in Adelaide we need to be physically and mentally very good,” said Stokes.