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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely 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 scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.