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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief 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. And though net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual 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 the batsman down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.