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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. 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 always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on the coach's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.