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The England head coach despised the term Bazball since it was coined, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as McCullum says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format 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 preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.