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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 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. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.