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The England head coach despised the label Bazball from its inception, viewing it as reductive and maybe anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Currently, 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 contributed to the problem either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the moment he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that simply maintains 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 disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they encounter, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the spotlight.