England refine Bazball approach to play smarter and avoid recklessness

Aggressive philosophy brought in by Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes is evolving into something more mature

Brendon McCullum is not exactly Charlotte Dujardin when it comes to working his stable. After cancelling training on Wednesday, the England head coach opted to give his players just a brief run out 24 hours before the third Test against West Indies; a quickfire morning session that was done by midday and then moved to Little Aston golf club.

This laissez-faire approach has very much been the way under McCullum and Ben Stokes over the past two and a bit years, the pair judging training by quality rather than quantity. In terms of individual preparation, players can dictate their own schedule to a degree; they can ask a coach to facilitate an extra hit if they feel undercooked, equally, if cherry ripe, they can decide not to come to the ground at all.