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The England head coach detested the term Bazball since it was coined, deeming it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be weaponised down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. After the gut-wrenching defeat at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the day-night Test was like trying to put out a bin fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as national coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While he says he block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The reality, as always, is not so simple. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Before the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days to Australia's three, given their lack of exposure to the pink ball and the changes in lighting conditions.

The Question of Readiness and Practice

The coach's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he wavered in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a significant amount of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly maintains the reflexes sharp.

Fixtures are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, as shown by England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing prepares cricketers for the many situations they encounter, and it is here where England have thus far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – harrowing as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the patience or discipline that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, apt solution to shake off the lethargy that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has apparently not evolved past that point – an absence of an upgrade to the original software that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a talent, no question, 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, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by the coach's words after the match, England look likely to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a return to a traditional match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unusual floodlit Test now in the past.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a new No 3. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, these changes is ideal, however Australia's superior basics having shattered pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.