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The England head coach loathed the label Bazball from its inception, viewing it as overly simplistic and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he ignore external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

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

The Debate of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that simply maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (with uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's free-spirit approach was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that initial phase – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Team Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested 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 display.

Based on McCullum'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 more familiar Test setting unleashes his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

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