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The England head coach detested the term Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he block out outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, 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 did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. While nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the patience or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player 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 with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.