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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

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

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – 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 displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by the coach'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 switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.