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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he says he block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. 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 trained for longer, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful display.

Based on McCullum'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 traditional Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.