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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

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 whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

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