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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he block out outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to shake off the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.