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The England head coach despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus 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. No bowler has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – an absence 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 Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman 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 made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.