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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could 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 Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

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 traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.