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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball from its inception, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

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

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area 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 bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win 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 wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.