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The England head coach despised the label Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 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 insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with gasoline. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just delivered a masterful display.

Going by the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar 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 last year by shifting the batsman down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner 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.