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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical 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. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across 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 selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.