🔗 Share this article I Would Be Salivating Bowling to the English Team - Glenn McGrath Published9 minutes ago 4 Comments The Australian team to fight back and win the opening Ashes Test so convincingly as they did, one questions what psychological damage will be left on the England team. How will they respond for the remaining series? Surprising Comeback I do not think no one expected what happened on the weekend. When you look at the quantity of deliveries taken to complete the game, it was the longest format on fast forward. England were clearly dominant at lunch on the second day, 105 ahead with nine wickets in hand. The pitch was still offering assistance. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match. Batting Mistakes From that moment, England's choice of strokes was their big undoing. The Australian bowler put in probably his worst performance in an national colors in the first innings, 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 shots, 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 homework, are not able to adjust or are unwilling to change approach. There is a lot of talk about England's method, their attacking philosophy. I witnessed it up close during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, 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 method full of danger. If England fail to reconsider, they will struggle for the whole series. Bowling Perspective As a paceman, I would have always felt in the contest against this England team. I relied on my accuracy, having confidence to hit the same spot around off stump, with a bit of bounce and movement. Even if this England team was going well, I'd be licking my lips at the prospect of facing them, knowing a single error could bring three or four wickets. Skill and Resilience There are occasions when England can be a high-quality team. They have good players. Competent cricketers have ability, but exceptional athletes have the psychological strength and mindset to be flexible enough for the conditions. They would been stunned 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 almost the same with their bowling. England's attack was very good on the opening day, then lost direction when they were put under pressure on the second night. In the longest format, all disciplines require a Plan B. Quite often it seems England have a single approach, then no alternatives if that does not work. 'Where has this come from?' - Starc bowls Root as England lose third wicket in quick succession Head's Masterclass In defense to England's pace attack, they were confronted with one of the memorable Ashes innings by the Australian batsman. His 69-ball hundred was the second quickest by an Australian batsman in Ashes cricket, 12 balls behind Adam Gilchrist at the Perth ground 19 years ago – a match I played in. My former teammate Gilly said Head's innings was the better of the two. I concur. Given the challenging nature of the wicket and the context of the match situation, the innings will go down as a highlight of cricket lore. Tactical Moves It was a bold and brave move for Australia to promote the batsman up the order for the second innings. The opener has faced criticism for being failing to start in either innings. He had back spasms after playing the sport the previous day the Test, but I do not believe the two were connected. When the batsman failed on the opening day, Australia promoted Marnus Labuschagne and got bogged down. In moving the aggressive batsman, who has the confidence of starting in white-ball cricket, Australia were able to take the attack to England. Future Considerations Now there is the issue of what Australia will do for the next match. I'd like to see them stick with the approach of attacking play at the beginning. That could mean Head remains, meaning a player such as Beau Webster comes into the batting lineup, or Head could go back to his position and Mitchell Marsh or the keeper could move to the opening. It would be difficult for the batsman, but occasionally you have to do what the opposition would find most uncomfortable. Tournament Perspective After the first Test 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 quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batsmen should get a some respite from now on. It is not all about the pitch. Credit has to be awarded to the bowlers for getting the ball in the right place consistently. In general, batsmen on each team will need to analyze how they got themselves out. Pivotal Match Now we move on to Brisbane, and the completely distinct twilight conditions for the second Test. In the historic series, I was part of the national side that overwhelmed England to achieve 5-0. Ashes series in this country have a habit of getting away from England quickly. At the moment, England are only 1-0 down. There would be no coming back from 2-0, which is why the venue is such a massive game. They need to adjust, or the historic urn will be gone once more.