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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. 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 McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to 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, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration 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 taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.