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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball since it was coined, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling 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 practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area 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 bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.