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The England head coach loathed the label Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his teammates have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two key chances with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.