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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, 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. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing 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 bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting 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 stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.