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Brendon McCullum detested the term Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might 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 turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. 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 shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.