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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball from its inception, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 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. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too 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 scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" 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 mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so 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 without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional 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 initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.