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The England head coach loathed the moniker Bazball from its inception, considering it reductive and maybe foreseeing how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, down 2-0 in an away Ashes series that started with great expectations, it has turned into the subject of Australian jokes.

However the coach has contributed to the problem either. After the crushing defeat at the Gabba, his insistence that, if there was an issue, England were 'too prepared' before the pink-ball match was like trying to put out a rubbish fire with gasoline. It could become his epitaph as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his commitment to the bit. As much as McCullum says he block out external noise, he must have been all too aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and lacking preparation.

The truth, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their opponents and they train just as much. Prior to the Gabba Test, they trained for longer, logging five days to Australia's three, due to their lack of exposure to the pink Kookaburra ball and the different lighting conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Practice

McCullum's point about being "over-prepared" 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 mental energy was expended before they even took the field in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though nets are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; low-pressure activity that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were not possible (and no guarantee, as shown by England having played three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the dismissal of domestic red-ball cricket as a worthwhile exercise more broadly, as shown by a young player's unproductive season.

Match Deficiencies and Strategic Lack of Evolution

Only playing hardens 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 batting – harrowing as some of the shot selection has been – but an attack that seems without a spearhead. No bowler has demonstrated the persistence or control that the exceptional Mitchell Starc and his support cast have displayed.

The coach's unconventional outlook was freeing during its first 12 months, an excellent, well diagnosed solution to shake off the torpor that came before. The disappointment now comes in how it has seemingly failed to move beyond that point – the lack of an second phase 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, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on both edges and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your counterpart, the Australian keeper, has just produced a masterful performance.

Based on the coach's words in the aftermath, England appear set to keep the faith with Smith in Adelaide. The expectation – as is the case – is that a switch to a more familiar match environment unleashes his top form, with Perth's bouncy pitch and the unfamiliar day-night format now in the past.

The alternative is to enact the plan discovered during the victorious series in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a active No. 5 or 6, giving him the gloves, and picking a fresh face at first drop. A young contender made some runs for the Lions recently, or maybe Will Jacks could perform a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

In the end, none of this is perfect, however Australia's better fundamentals having destroyed pre-series optimism and forced the team's entire approach into the spotlight.