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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, 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. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, 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 Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.