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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised 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 Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection 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 has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.