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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon 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 the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before 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 changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative 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 active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.