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The England head coach loathed the label Bazball from its inception, 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 began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching 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 risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time 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 ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash 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 unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on 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 match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.