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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball from its inception, deeming it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

But the coach has not helped himself either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the day-night Test was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not improve.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their necessary down time as their rivals and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Debate of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was used up before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a opportunity to refine skills, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure work that simply maintains the reactions quick.

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). What is harder to square is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Only playing prepares 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 – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

The coach's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its first 12 months, an excellent, apt remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Squad Focus and Selection Decisions

One such player is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments in the aftermath, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a traditional match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

The alternative is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a active No. 5 or 6, handing him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.