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The England head coach despised the label Bazball from its inception, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he says he 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 not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing hardens 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 decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment 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 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by the coach'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 Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.