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The England head coach despised the term Bazball from its inception, deeming it overly simplistic and maybe foreseeing how it could be used as a weapon down the line. Currently, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that began with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of mockery from Australia.

But the coach has contributed to the problem either. Following the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his insistence that, if anything, England were 'over-prepared' prior to the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his epitaph 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 he says he ignore external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as carefree and underprepared.

The truth, as ever, is not so simple. England play as much golf during their scheduled breaks as their rivals and they practice equally hard. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, completing five days compared to Australia's three, given their limited experience to the pink ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" was that those additional training days were his call – the instance he blinked in his belief that less is more. It meant a Test match's worth of mental energy was used up before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's stronghold. And though net practice are a opportunity to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Schedules are tight such that warm-up matches against state sides were not possible (and 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 valuable experience in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Shortcomings and Strategic Lack of Evolution

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 bat – as poor as some of the decision-making has been – but an bowling attack that seems without a spearhead. None has demonstrated the persistence or discipline that the otherworldly Australian paceman and his support cast have displayed.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, well diagnosed remedy to eradicate the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has apparently not evolved past that point – the lack of an second phase to the original software that has seen form taper off to an even record from their most recent matches.

Player Spotlight and Team Decisions

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being mercilessly targeted on each side of the bat and missed two crucial opportunities as wicketkeeper. It probably does not help when your counterpart, Alex Carey, has just delivered a virtuoso display.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – similar to the broader situation – is that a switch to a more familiar Test setting unleashes his top form, with Perth's trampoline surface and the unfamiliar floodlit Test now in the past.

The alternative is to implement the plan stumbled across during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by shifting Ollie Pope down to his preferred position as a busy middle order player, giving him the wicketkeeping duties, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. Bethell made some runs for the Lions recently, or perhaps an all-rounder could fulfil a comparable function to the former spinner in 2023.

In the end, none of this is ideal, with Australia's better fundamentals having shattered pre-series optimism and pushed the broader philosophy into the harsh glare of scrutiny.