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Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, 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 valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area 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 without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in 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 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, 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, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.