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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 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 contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

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

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.