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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing 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.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim 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 gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, 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 decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The disappointment 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 results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting 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 ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.