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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it overly simplistic and perhaps foreseeing how it might be weaponised in the future. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if anything, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if results do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as carefree and lacking preparation.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their opponents 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 ball and the changes in seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

The coach's point about being "over-prepared" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's stronghold. While net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence activity that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with uncertain value, as shown by England having played three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of county championship cricket as a valuable experience more broadly, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone prepares cricketers for the various scenarios they walk out to face, and it is here where England have so far been found lacking. The issue is not just with the bat – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has shown the patience or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the initial philosophy that has seen results taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Selection Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and missed two crucial opportunities with the gloves. The situation is not aided when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's words after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his best, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now out of the way.

Another option is to enact the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand last year by shifting Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy No. 5 or 6, handing him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. Bethell scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is ideal, with Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and pushed the team's entire approach into the harsh glare of scrutiny.