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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of focus was used up before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

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

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, 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, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso 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 switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

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