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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test 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 preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.