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The England head coach despised the term Bazball since it was coined, considering it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, 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 did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness 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 minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt remedy to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – 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 unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.