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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However 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 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and has dropped two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.