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Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, 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 a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, 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 shot selection 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 displayed.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist 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 enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.