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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball since it was coined, deeming it 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 become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like 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. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf 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, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing 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 belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so 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 shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them 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 with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, 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 similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.