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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given 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 "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash 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 unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares 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 – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight 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 as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

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