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The England head coach despised the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching 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 rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, 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, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. The issue is not just with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade 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, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a masterful display.

Based on McCullum's words in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.