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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it could be weaponised down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

However the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy 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 claims to block out external noise, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

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 trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he wavered in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a opportunity to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's unproductive season.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just 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 persistence or control that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.