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The England head coach detested the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf 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 lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.