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Brendon McCullum loathed the term Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself 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 bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, 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 did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful performance.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across 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, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.