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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to 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 not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time 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 lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, as shown by England having played 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, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by 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 return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, 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.