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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies 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. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.