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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, 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, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Going by 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 switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.