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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. 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 the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. 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 changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

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. None has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.