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Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, 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 crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

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

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone 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 shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful 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 more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.