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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

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

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt remedy to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.