I Would Be Licking My Lips Bowling to England - McGrath

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The Australian team to fight back and claim victory in the opening Ashes Test so convincingly as they did, you wonder what scars will be left on the England team.

How will they respond for the rest of series?

Surprising Comeback

I believe anyone expected what transpired on the weekend. When you examine the number of overs required to complete the game, it was the longest format on fast forward.

England were clearly dominant at the midday break on the second day, 105 ahead with nine wickets in hand. The pitch was still offering assistance. It looked so tough for Australia to re-enter the match.

Shot Selection Woes

From that moment, England's choice of strokes was their big undoing. The Australian bowler put in arguably his poorest performance in an national colors in the initial batting, then completely reversed in the second to be the driving force for the comeback.

England's batters were out attempting to strike balls wide of off-stump, on the up, towards cover region.

Trying to score off those deliveries, with those strokes, is the one thing you just do not do as a batter in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

It demonstrated that England had failed to complete their preparation, are unable to adapt or are unwilling to adapt.

There is a lot of talk about England's approach, their attacking philosophy. I witnessed it up close during the recent series in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and their coach, they can be pretty stubborn when it comes to sticking with that method.

It is acceptable on sluggish pitches. On the fast, bouncy pitches of Australia it is a approach full of danger. If England fail to reconsider, they will struggle for the entire series.

Bowling Perspective

As a bowler, I would have always felt in the game against this England team.

I relied on my accuracy, backing myself to hit the same spot around off stump, with a bit of bounce and nip.

Even if this England team was going well, I'd be eagerly anticipating at the idea of bowling to them, knowing a single error could result in three or four wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are occasions when England can be a high-quality team. They have good players. Good players have skill, but great players have the psychological strength and mindset to be flexible enough for the situation.

They would been stunned at the way things unfolded at Perth Stadium, crushed at the way they were defeated. Now we will see what they are made of. Even as a true blue Australian, part of me wants to see them change, just to show they can get better.

Bowling Concerns

It was almost the same with their pace attack. England's bowling unit was excellent on the first evening, then lost direction when they were attacked on the second night.

In Test cricket, all aspects require a Plan B. Quite often it seems England have a single approach, then no alternatives if that fails.

'Where has this come from?' - Starc bowls Root as England collapse in quick succession

Brilliant Innings

In fairness to England's pace attack, they were hit by one of the memorable Ashes innings by the Australian batsman.

His 69-ball hundred was the second fastest by an Australian batsman in the historic rivalry, two overs behind Adam Gilchrist at the Perth ground previously – a match I played in.

My old mate Gilchrist said the performance was the better of the two. I agree. Considering the difficulty of the pitch and the situation of the match situation, the innings will go down as a moment of cricket lore.

Tactical Moves

It was a bold and brave move for Australia to elevate Head in the lineup for the follow-on.

Usman Khawaja has copped it for being unable to open in both attempts. He had back spasms after playing golf the previous day the Test, but I do not believe the two were linked.

When Khawaja failed on day one, Australia advanced Marnus Labuschagne and got stuck.

In moving Head, who has the experience of opening in white-ball cricket, Australia were able to go on offensive to England.

Future Considerations

Now there is the question of what Australia will do for the second Test. I'd like to see them continue the approach of aggression at the beginning.

That could mean continuation at the top, meaning a player such as the all-rounder enters the middle order, or Head could go back to his position and the all-rounder or the keeper could go to the top. It would be difficult for Khawaja, but sometimes you have to do what the rival team would find most uncomfortable.

Series Outlook

After the first Test was controlled by the pace attack, questions arise if the rest of series will be brief, low-run Tests.

Perth Stadium is essentially the quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batsmen should get a some relief from now on.

It is not all about the wicket. Recognition has to be given to the pacemen for getting the ball in the right place consistently. In general, batsmen on both sides will need to analyze how they got themselves out.

Crucial Next Test

Now we progress to the next venue, and the vastly different twilight conditions for the following match.

In 2006-07, I was a member of the Australia team that dominated England to win 5-0. The rivalry in this nation have a habit of slipping from England rapidly.

At the present, England are just one match down. There would be no coming back from two down, which is why the venue is such a massive game.

They must adapt, or the historic urn will be gone once more.