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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

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, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, 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 performance.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.