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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to block out outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

McCullum'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 focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, 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 more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – 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 Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – 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 Spotlight and Team Decisions

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 crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.