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The England head coach despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his belief 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 cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios 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 leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

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

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.