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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.