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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked 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 fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered 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, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.