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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, 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 in general, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone 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 batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

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

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.