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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, 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 gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he block out outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight 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 has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.