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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

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

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction 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 net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games 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 domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, 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. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.