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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like 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 dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to ignore external noise, he must have been acutely 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 rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.