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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing 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 great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish 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. While McCullum claims to ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before 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 lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum'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 significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.