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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe 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.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. After 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 attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to ignore external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to 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 additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.