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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, 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, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in 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 less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing hardens 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 attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, 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 series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

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