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The England head coach detested the moniker Bazball since it was coined, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' before the day-night Test was like attempting to extinguish a bin fire with petrol. 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. As much as he says he block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as always, is more nuanced. England play as much golf during their necessary down time as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those additional training days were his decision – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It suggested a Test match's worth of focus was expended before they even took the field in the intensity of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to iron out technique, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were not possible (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the 5-0 series loss in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

On-Field Shortcomings 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. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems leaderless. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was freeing during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to shake off the lethargy 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 original software that has seen form taper off to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Team Dilemmas

Among them is the wicketkeeper-batter, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on both edges and has dropped two crucial opportunities with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a masterful performance.

Going by McCullum'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 more familiar Test setting triggers his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

Another option is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving the batsman down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and picking a new No 3. Bethell scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or maybe an all-rounder could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, these changes is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.