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The England head coach despised the label Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to ignore external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, completing five days to Australia's three, due to 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 additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and 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 worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

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

Player Focus and Selection Decisions

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Based on the coach's words after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a switch to a traditional Test setting triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, 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 perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.