🔗 Share this article I Would Be Salivating Bowling to the English Team - McGrath Published9 minutes ago 4 Comments For Australia to fight back and win the first Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what scars will be inflicted upon the England team. How will they respond for the rest of series? Surprising Comeback I believe no one expected what happened on Saturday. When you look at the number of overs taken to complete the game, it was Test cricket on accelerated pace. England were clearly dominant at lunch on the following day, leading by 105 runs with nine wickets in hand. The playing surface was still offering assistance. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match. Batting Mistakes From that moment, England's shot selection was their major downfall. The Australian bowler put in arguably his poorest performance in an Australia shirt in the initial batting, then completely reversed in the subsequent innings to be the driving force for the recovery. England's batsmen were out attempting to strike balls wide of off-stump, on the up, through the covers. Trying to score off those bowls, with those strokes, is the precise action you just do not do as a batsman in Australia. Adaptation Issues It showed that England had failed to complete their preparation, are not able to adjust or are unwilling to adapt. There is much discussion about England's method, their attacking philosophy. I witnessed it up close during the recent series in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and their coach, they can be quite rigid when it comes to sticking with that strategy. It is fine on slow, low pitches. On the fast, bouncy pitches of Australia it is a approach fraught with danger. If England fail to reconsider, they will face difficulties for the whole series. Pacer's Viewpoint As a bowler, I would have consistently believed in the contest against this England team. I depended on my precision, backing myself to land 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 prospect of facing them, knowing a single error could result in multiple wickets. Skill and Resilience There are times when England can be a top-class team. They have good players. Good players have ability, but exceptional athletes have the mental toughness and mindset to be adaptable enough for the conditions. They would been shellshocked at the way events developed at the venue, devastated at the way they were defeated. Now we will see what they are capable of. Even as a true blue Australian, part of me wants to see them change, just to show they can improve. Bowling Concerns It was almost the same with their bowling. England's bowling unit was excellent on the first evening, then lost direction when they were put under pressure on the following day. In the longest format, all disciplines require a backup strategy. Frequently it feels like England have a single approach, then nowhere to go if that fails. 'Where has this come from?' - Starc bowls Root as England lose third wicket in six balls Brilliant Innings In fairness to England's pace attack, they were confronted with one of the great Ashes innings by Travis Head. His 69-ball hundred was the second quickest by an Australian batsman in the historic rivalry, 12 balls behind the legendary keeper at the Perth ground previously – a game I played in. My former teammate Gilly said the performance was the superior of the two. I concur. Considering the challenging nature of the wicket and the situation of the match circumstances, Head's knock will be remembered as a moment of Ashes history. Strategic Decisions It was a bold and brave move for Australia to elevate Head up the order for the second innings. Usman Khawaja has copped it for being failing to start in either innings. He had muscle issues after playing golf the day before the Test, but I do not believe the two were connected. When Khawaja missed out on the opening day, Australia advanced their number three and got bogged down. In moving the aggressive batsman, who has the confidence of opening in white-ball cricket, Australia were able to go on offensive to England. Upcoming Decisions Now there is the issue 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 Head remains, meaning someone like Beau Webster comes into the batting lineup, or Head could go back to number five and Mitchell Marsh or Josh Inglis could move to the opening. It would be difficult for Khawaja, but sometimes you have to do what the opposition would find most uncomfortable. Tournament Perspective After the opening match was dominated by the bowlers, some are wondering if the remaining series will be brief, low-run Tests. Perth Stadium is essentially the fastest, bounciest pitch in the world, so the batters should get a little bit of respite from now on. It is not entirely about the pitch. Recognition has to be given to the pacemen for getting the ball in the right place so often. In general, batters on both sides will need to look at how they got themselves out. Crucial Next Test Now we progress to Brisbane, and the completely distinct day-night conditions for the following match. In the historic series, I was part of the national side that dominated England to achieve 5-0. Ashes series in this country have a habit of getting away from England quickly. At the moment, England are just one match down. There would be no coming back from two down, which is why Brisbane is such a massive game. They need to adjust, or the Ashes will be gone once more.