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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across 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 gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.