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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss 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 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 McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. 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 limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.