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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised down the line. 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 the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. 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. And though nets are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider 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 more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team 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 has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.