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The England head coach detested the label Bazball since it was coined, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating 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 Australian jokes.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, 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 did more, completing 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 Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here 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 attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.