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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating 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 become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – 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 took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, 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, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. 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 ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.