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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides 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 dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.