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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But 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' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.