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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, 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 worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.