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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, 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 not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish 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. While he claims to ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

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