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The England head coach detested the label Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area 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 bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.