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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares 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 – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format 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 Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

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