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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested 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). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. 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 form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Going by McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – 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 day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.