I Would Be Salivating Facing England - Glenn McGrath

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For Australia to fight back and claim victory in the opening Ashes Test as decisively as they did, one questions what psychological damage will be left on the England team.

What are they going to do for the remaining series?

Surprising Comeback

I do not think anyone expected what happened on the weekend. When you look at the quantity of deliveries required to complete the game, it was the longest format on accelerated pace.

England were well on top at the midday break on the second day, leading by 105 runs with most wickets in hand. The playing surface was still doing plenty. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to get back into the match.

Shot Selection Woes

From that moment, England's choice of strokes was their big undoing. The Australian bowler put in probably his worst performance in an Australia shirt in the initial batting, then completely reversed in the subsequent innings to be the catalyst for the recovery.

England's batters were out trying to hit balls wide of off-stump, in the air, through the covers.

Attempting runs off those deliveries, with those strokes, is the precise action you just should avoid as a batsman in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

It demonstrated that England had not done their preparation, are not able to adjust or are reluctant to adapt.

There is much discussion about England's method, their aggressive style. I observed it firsthand 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 fine on sluggish pitches. On the quick, lively pitches of Australia it is a approach full of danger. If England do not reassess, they will struggle for the entire series.

Pacer's Viewpoint

As a paceman, I would have always felt in the contest against this England team.

I relied on my accuracy, backing myself to land the identical area around off stump, with a bit of bounce and movement.

Even if this England team was performing strongly, I'd be eagerly anticipating at the prospect of bowling to them, knowing one mistake could bring three or four wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are occasions when England can be a top-class team. They have talented individuals. Competent cricketers have skill, but great players have the psychological strength and mindset to be flexible enough for the conditions.

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

Pace Attack Issues

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

In the longest format, all disciplines require a backup strategy. Quite often it feels like England have one method, then nowhere to go if that fails.

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Brilliant Innings

In defense to England's bowlers, they were hit by one of the memorable Ashes innings by Travis Head.

His century off 69 deliveries was the second fastest by an Australian batsman in the historic rivalry, two overs behind the legendary keeper at the Perth ground 19 years ago – a game I played in.

My former teammate Gilly said Head's innings 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 go down as a highlight of cricket lore.

Strategic Decisions

It was a courageous move for Australia to elevate the batsman up the order for the follow-on.

Usman Khawaja has copped it for being unable to open in either innings. He had muscle issues after playing golf the previous day the Test, but I don't think the two were linked.

When Khawaja failed on the opening day, Australia promoted their number three and got bogged down.

In promoting the aggressive batsman, who has the confidence of starting in limited overs, Australia were able to go on offensive to England.

Future Considerations

Now there is the question of what Australia will do for the next match. I'd like to see them stick with the method of attacking play at the beginning.

That could mean continuation at the top, meaning a player such as the all-rounder enters the middle order, or return to number five and the all-rounder or the keeper could move to the top. It would be difficult for Khawaja, but sometimes you have to do what the opposition would find most uncomfortable.

Series Outlook

After the opening match was controlled by the pace attack, some are wondering if the rest of series will be brief, low-run Tests.

Perth Stadium is pretty much the fastest, bounciest pitch in the global cricket, so the batters should get a little bit of respite from now on.

It is not entirely about the pitch. Recognition has to be awarded to the pacemen for getting the ball in the correct areas so often. In general, batsmen on each team will need to analyze how they were dismissed.

Pivotal Match

Now we progress to the next venue, and the completely distinct twilight conditions for the following match.

In 2006-07, I was a member of the Australia team that dominated England to achieve 5-0. Ashes series in this nation have a habit of getting away from England rapidly.

At the present, England are just one match down. There would be no recovery 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.