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Brendon McCullum despised the term Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal 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 hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – the lack 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.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.