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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

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 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor 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 teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Team Decisions

One such player 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. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.