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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares 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 – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

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