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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to ignore external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.