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Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software 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 gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. 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, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.