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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball since it was coined, considering it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he ignore external noise, 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 play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation 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 minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares 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 attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.