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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.