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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. 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, completing five days 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 Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, 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 Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.