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Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, 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 worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.