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Brendon McCullum despised the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it might 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 McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. 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 ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.