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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, 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 valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.