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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to 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 lighting conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch 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 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.