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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra 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 stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Based on the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.