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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, 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 shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, 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 produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely 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 best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.