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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if results do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum says he block out outside criticism, 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 enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with 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, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios 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 batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Player Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Based on 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 more familiar Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win 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 new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.