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The England head coach despised the label Bazball since it was coined, considering it reductive and perhaps anticipating how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing defeat 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 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 says he ignore external noise, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

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

The Debate of Readiness and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though nets are a opportunity to iron out skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and no guarantee, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or control that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an effective, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The disappointment now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment triggers his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a new No 3. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the spotlight.