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Brendon McCullum despised the term Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

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 preferred position as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.