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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball since it was coined, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might 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 turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

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