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Brendon McCullum loathed the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming 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 McCullum says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals 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 lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.