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The England head coach despised the term Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon in the future. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of mockery from Australia.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. While he claims to block out external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging 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 Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to iron out skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reflexes sharp.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have displayed.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now comes in how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – the lack of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Player Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's comments in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, handing him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.