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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 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 defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly maintains 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 dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – 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 unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.