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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball since it was coined, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with high hopes, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he must have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his conviction that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure work that mainly keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that warm-up matches against state sides were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Mitchell Starc and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – the lack of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Based on the coach's comments after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.