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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks 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 limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked 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 stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. 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. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.