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The England head coach detested the label Bazball since it was coined, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum 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 ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. 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 otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.