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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become 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. While McCullum says he block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing 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 Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings 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 so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year 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 over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.