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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

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 preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.