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The England head coach detested the label Bazball the moment it emerged, viewing it as reductive and perhaps anticipating how it might be used as a weapon down the line. Right now, trailing 2-0 in an Test series in Australia that started with high hopes, it has become the butt of Australian jokes.

However McCullum has not helped himself either. After the gut-wrenching loss at the Gabba, his claim that, if there was an issue, England were 'over-prepared' before the pink-ball match was akin to trying to put out a rubbish fire with petrol. It could become his lasting legacy as England head coach if performances do not take an upturn.

On one level, you almost have to admire his dedication to the philosophy. As much as he claims to block out outside criticism, he will have been acutely aware of an England team increasingly characterised as freewheeling and underprepared.

The reality, as ever, is more nuanced. England enjoy golf just as much during their scheduled breaks as their rivals 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 Kookaburra ball and the different seeing conditions.

The Question of Preparation and Training

McCullum's point about being "excessively ready" was that those five extra days were his call – the moment he wavered in his conviction that less is more. It meant a significant amount of focus was expended before they even stepped out in the cauldron of Australia's fortress. And though net practice are a chance to refine technique, they can also become a comfort zone; zero consequence work that mainly maintains the reactions quick.

Fixtures are congested such that pre-series state games were unavailable (and uncertain value, when you consider England playing three before the whitewash in 2013-14). More difficult to justify is the disregard of county championship cricket as a worthwhile exercise in general, evidenced by Jacob Bethell's wasted summer.

Match Deficiencies and Philosophical 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 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 teammates have delivered.

McCullum's unconventional outlook was liberating during its initial year, an effective, apt remedy to shake off the torpor that came before. The frustration now stems from how it has seemingly not evolved past that point – an absence of an second phase to the original software that has seen form decline to 14 wins and 14 losses from their last 30 Tests.

Squad Spotlight and Selection Dilemmas

One such player is Jamie Smith, a gifted player, undoubtedly, but one who is being constantly tested on each side of the bat and missed two key chances with the gloves. It probably does not help when your opposite number, Alex Carey, has just produced a virtuoso performance.

Based on McCullum's comments after the match, England look likely to persist with Smith in Adelaide. The hope – 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 unusual day-night format now out of the way.

The alternative is to implement the plan discovered during the series win in New Zealand 12 months ago by moving Ollie Pope down to his more natural home as a busy middle order player, giving him the gloves, and selecting a fresh face at first drop. A young contender scored runs for the Lions recently, or maybe an all-rounder could fulfil a similar role to Moeen Ali in 2023.

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