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Brendon McCullum despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.