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The England head coach despised the label Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much 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 to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

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

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

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

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, 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 destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.