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

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

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

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much 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, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.