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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball from its inception, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. 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 nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, 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 attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.