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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he says he block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, 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 compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so 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 leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy 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 maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.