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The England head coach despised the term Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

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

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents 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 seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation 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 meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. 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 demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.