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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares 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 bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.