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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to block out outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

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. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.