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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out 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 not possible (and uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

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

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – 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 out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.