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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that less is more. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.