I'd Be Licking My Lips Bowling to England - McGrath

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For Australia 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.

What are they going to do for the rest of series?

Unexpected Turnaround

I believe no one anticipated what transpired on Saturday. When you look at the quantity of deliveries required to finish the game, it was Test cricket on accelerated pace.

England were clearly dominant at the midday break on the second day, 105 ahead with nine wickets in hand. The playing surface was still doing plenty. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match.

Shot Selection Woes

From that point, England's shot selection was their big undoing. Scott Boland put in arguably his poorest performance in an national colors in the initial batting, then completely reversed in the subsequent innings to be the driving force for the recovery.

England's batters were out attempting to strike balls outside off stump, in the air, towards cover region.

Attempting runs off those bowls, with those shots, is the one thing you just do not do as a batter in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

It showed that England had not done their homework, are not able to adjust or are reluctant to change approach.

There is a lot of talk about England's method, their aggressive style. I observed it up close during the recent series in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, they can be pretty stubborn when it comes to adhering to that strategy.

It is fine on sluggish pitches. On the quick, lively pitches of Australia it is a approach fraught with danger. If England do not reassess, they will struggle for the whole series.

Pacer's Viewpoint

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

I relied on my accuracy, having confidence to hit the identical area around off stump, with a bit of bounce and nip.

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

Skill and Resilience

There are occasions when England can be a top-class team. They have good players. Good players have skill, but exceptional athletes have the psychological strength and attitude to be flexible enough for the conditions.

They would been shellshocked at the way events developed at the venue, devastated at the way they were beaten. Now we will see what they are made of. Even as a true blue Australian, I somewhat wants to see them change, just to show they can get better.

Bowling Concerns

It was similar with their bowling. England's bowling unit was excellent on the opening day, then lost direction when they were put under pressure on the second night.

In Test cricket, all disciplines require a backup strategy. Quite often it feels like England have one method, then no alternatives if that does not work.

'Where has this come from?' - The dismissal as England lose third wicket in six balls

Brilliant Innings

In fairness to England's pace attack, they were hit by one of the great Ashes innings by Travis Head.

His century off 69 deliveries was the second quickest by an Australian man in the historic rivalry, two overs behind the legendary keeper at the Perth ground previously – a match I participated in.

My old mate Gilchrist said Head's innings was the better of the two. I concur. Given the challenging nature of the wicket and the context of the game circumstances, the innings will be remembered as a highlight of Ashes history.

Strategic Decisions

It was a bold and brave move for Australia to promote Head in the lineup for the second innings.

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

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

In promoting the aggressive batsman, who has the experience of starting in limited overs, Australia were able to take the attack to England.

Future Considerations

Now there is the question of what Australia will do for the second Test. I'd like to see them stick with the method of attacking play at the top of the order.

That could mean continuation at the top, meaning a player such as the all-rounder comes into the batting lineup, or return to number five and Mitchell Marsh or the keeper could move to the top. It would be difficult for the batsman, but sometimes you have to do what the opposition would find most challenging.

Series Outlook

After the first Test was controlled by the pace attack, some are wondering if the rest of series will be short, low-scoring Tests.

Perth Stadium is essentially the quickest, liveliest pitch in the global cricket, so the batsmen should get a some respite from here onward.

It is not entirely about the wicket. Credit has to be awarded to the pacemen for getting the ball in the correct areas consistently. Overall, batters on each team will need to analyze how they got themselves out.

Pivotal Match

Now we progress to Brisbane, and the vastly different day-night conditions for the following match.

In the historic series, I was part of the national side that overwhelmed England to win 5-0. The rivalry in this nation have a tendency of getting away from England rapidly.

At the present, England are just one match down. There would be no coming back from 2-0, which is why the venue is such a crucial game.

They need to adjust, or the historic urn will be gone again.

Anna Peters
Anna Peters

Maya Sterling is a leadership coach and innovation strategist with over 15 years of experience helping organizations and individuals achieve transformative growth.