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The England head coach despised the term Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to 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 lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider 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 more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so 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 persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell 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, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.