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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject 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 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, 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. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on the coach's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.