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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and maybe anticipating how it could be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. While McCullum claims to block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals 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

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (with uncertain value, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the persistence or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional match environment triggers his best, 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 moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered expectations and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.