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Brendon McCullum detested the label Bazball since it was coined, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself 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 like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations 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 batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.