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Brendon McCullum detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

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