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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. 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 trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing 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 in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.