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Brendon McCullum loathed the label Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here 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 without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.