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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball from its inception, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment 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 cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – 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 Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted 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 masterful display.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.