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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the day-night Test was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph as national coach if performances do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as he claims to block out external noise, he will have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and lacking preparation.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Debate of Readiness and Training

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While net practice are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; low-pressure activity that simply keeps the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (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 worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical Stagnation

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems leaderless. None has shown the persistence or control that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor 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 original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their most recent matches.

Player Focus and Team Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Based on McCullum's words 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 best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by moving Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.