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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become 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 ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration 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 results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad 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 has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

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

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.