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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to 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 additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, 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 virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – 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 unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.