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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to block out outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here 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 demonstrated the patience or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.