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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider 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 Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

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 counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position 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 fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.