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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

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

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.