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The England head coach despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe 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 high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. 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. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently 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 Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.