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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

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

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

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.