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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

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

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals 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 ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic 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 fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, 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 hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.