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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

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

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider 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, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

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