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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and maybe anticipating how it might be weaponised down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with high hopes, 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 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss 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 Stagnation

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 bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Going by the coach's comments after the match, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.