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Brendon McCullum despised the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described 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 train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

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 has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.