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The England head coach loathed the term Bazball the moment it emerged, considering it reductive and perhaps foreseeing how it could be weaponised in the future. Currently, down 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

But McCullum has not helped himself either. Following the crushing loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was akin to attempting to extinguish a rubbish fire with petrol. It risks becoming his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

In a way, one must admire his dedication to the philosophy. While McCullum claims to ignore outside criticism, he will have been all too aware of an England team often described as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Before the Gabba Test, they did more, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their limited experience to the pink ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the moment he blinked in his conviction that minimal preparation is best. It suggested a Test match's worth of mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. While nets are a chance to refine skills, they can also become a safety blanket; zero consequence activity that mainly keeps the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that pre-series state games were unavailable (with no guarantee, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). What is harder to square is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, as shown by a young player's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Stagnation

Match practice alone hardens cricketers for the many situations they walk out to face, and it is in this area where England have so far fallen well short. It is not only with the batting – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has shown the patience or discipline that the exceptional Australian paceman and his support cast have delivered.

McCullum's free-spirit outlook was liberating during its initial year, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to eradicate the lethargy that preceded it. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that initial phase – an absence of an upgrade to the initial philosophy that has seen form taper off to an even record from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Decisions

Among them is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances as wicketkeeper. The situation is not aided when your opposite number, the Australian keeper, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Going by McCullum's comments after the match, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a return to a more familiar match environment triggers his best, with Perth's trampoline surface 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 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions over the weekend, or perhaps an all-rounder could perform a comparable function to Moeen Ali in 2023.

Ultimately, none of this is perfect, however Australia's superior basics having destroyed expectations and forced the broader philosophy into the spotlight.