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Brendon McCullum despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.