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The England head coach detested the term Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt 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 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While he says he block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.