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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. 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 the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface 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 moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.