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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to ignore external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.