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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field 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 thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.