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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence 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 risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. 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 to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, 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 worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar 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 moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.