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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on the coach'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 more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.