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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. 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 changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – 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 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 moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.