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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. 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 to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making 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 teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – an absence 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

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement 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 No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.