🔗 Share this article I Would Be Licking My Lips Facing the English Team - McGrath Published9 minutes ago 4 Comments The Australian team to fight back and claim victory in the first Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what psychological damage will be left on the England team. How will they respond for the rest of series? Surprising Comeback I do not think anyone expected what transpired on the weekend. When you look at the quantity of deliveries required to finish the game, it was Test cricket on fast forward. England were well on top at lunch on the following day, leading by 105 runs with nine wickets in hand. The pitch was still doing plenty. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to get back into the match. Batting Mistakes From that moment, England's choice of strokes was their major downfall. Scott Boland put in arguably his poorest performance in an Australia shirt in the first innings, then completely reversed in the subsequent innings to be the driving force for the comeback. England's batters were out trying to hit balls wide of off-stump, in the air, towards cover region. Trying to score off those deliveries, with those strokes, is the one thing you just should avoid as a batsman in Australia. Adaptation Issues It demonstrated that England had failed to complete their preparation, are unable to adjust or are reluctant to adapt. There is a lot of talk about England's approach, their aggressive style. I witnessed it firsthand during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and their coach, they can be quite rigid when it comes to adhering to that strategy. It is fine on sluggish pitches. On the quick, lively pitches of Australia it is a method fraught with danger. If England fail to reconsider, they will face difficulties for the entire 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 land the same spot on or outside off stump, with a bit of bounce and movement. Even if this England team was performing strongly, I'd be licking my lips at the idea of facing them, knowing a single error could result in 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 mental toughness and attitude to be adaptable enough for the conditions. They would been stunned at the way things unfolded at the venue, 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 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 put under pressure on the following day. In the longest format, all disciplines require a backup strategy. Quite often it feels like England have a single approach, then nowhere to go if that does not work. 'Where has this come from?' - Starc bowls Root as England lose third wicket in six balls Brilliant Innings In defense to England's bowlers, they were hit by one of the great Ashes innings by the Australian batsman. His 69-ball hundred was the second fastest by an Australian man in Ashes cricket, 12 balls behind the legendary keeper at the Waca 19 years ago – a match I played in. My former teammate Gilly said Head's innings was the superior of the two. I concur. Considering the difficulty of the pitch and the situation of the match situation, the innings will go down as a moment of Ashes history. Strategic Decisions It was a courageous move for Australia to elevate Head in the lineup for the follow-on. The opener has copped it for being unable to open in both attempts. He had back spasms after playing the sport the day before the Test, but I don't think the two were connected. When Khawaja missed out on day one, Australia promoted their number three and got bogged down. In moving the aggressive batsman, who has the experience of starting in limited overs, Australia were able to take the attack to England. Upcoming Decisions Now there is the issue of what Australia will do for the next match. I'd like to see them continue 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 enters the middle order, or Head could go back 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. Tournament Perspective After the first Test was dominated by the bowlers, some are wondering if the rest of series will be brief, low-run Tests. The venue is essentially the quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batsmen 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 correct areas so often. In general, batsmen on both sides will need to look at how they got themselves out. Pivotal Match Now we move on to the next venue, and the vastly different day-night conditions for the following match. In 2006-07, I was part of the Australia team that dominated England to achieve 5-0. Ashes series in this country have a habit of getting away from England rapidly. At the moment, England are only 1-0 down. There would be no coming back from 2-0, which is why Brisbane is such a crucial game. They need to adjust, or the historic urn will be gone once more.