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The England head coach despised the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.