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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However the coach 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 akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight 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 disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection 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 crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.