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The England head coach despised the term Bazball from its inception, deeming it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But the coach has not helped himself either. After the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a bin fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if performances do not take an upturn.

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

The reality, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, 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

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and no guarantee, when you consider England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience in general, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

On-Field Deficiencies and Philosophical Lack of Evolution

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the patience or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit approach was freeing during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the torpor that preceded it. The disappointment now stems from how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results decline to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso display.

Going by McCullum's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unusual floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to the former spinner in 2023.

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