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Brendon McCullum despised the term Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. 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 to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.