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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the persistence 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, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.