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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus 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; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules 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 valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them 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 with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.