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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to ignore external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.