I'd Be Salivating Bowling to England - McGrath
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The Australian team to fight back and win the first Ashes Test so convincingly as they did, one questions what scars will be inflicted upon the England team.
What are they going to do for the rest of series?
Unexpected Turnaround
I believe anyone anticipated what transpired on the weekend. When you examine the number of overs required to complete the game, it was Test cricket on fast forward.
England were clearly dominant at the midday break on the following day, leading by 105 runs with nine wickets in hand. The playing surface was still doing plenty. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match.
Batting Mistakes
From that point, England's shot selection was their major downfall. The Australian bowler 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 comeback.
England's batsmen 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 one thing you just should avoid as a batsman in Australia.
Adjustment Problems
It showed that England had not done their preparation, are not able to adapt or are unwilling to adapt.
There is a lot of talk about England's method, their attacking philosophy. I witnessed it up close during the recent series in the UK. Under their captain and their coach, they can be pretty stubborn when it comes to sticking with that method.
It is fine on sluggish pitches. On the fast, bouncy pitches of Australia it is a method full of danger. If England do not reassess, they will face difficulties for the whole series.
Bowling Perspective
As a bowler, I would have always felt in the contest against this England team.
I depended on my precision, backing myself to hit the same spot around off stump, with a some bounce and movement.
Even if this England team was going well, I'd be licking my lips at the idea of bowling to them, aware one mistake could result in three or four wickets.
Quality and Mental Toughness
There are occasions when England can be a high-quality team. They have good players. Competent cricketers have ability, but great players have the mental toughness and mindset to be adaptable enough for the conditions.
They would been stunned at the way events developed 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, I somewhat wants to see them change, just to show they can improve.
Pace Attack Issues
It was similar with their bowling. England's attack was very good on the first evening, then lost the plot when they were attacked on the second night.
In the longest format, all aspects require a backup strategy. Frequently it feels like England have one method, then nowhere to go if that does not work.
'Where has this come from?' - Starc bowls Root as England collapse in quick succession
Head's Masterclass
In fairness to England's bowlers, they were confronted with one of the memorable Ashes innings by the Australian batsman.
His century off 69 deliveries was the second fastest by an Australian man in the historic rivalry, two overs behind Adam Gilchrist at the Waca 19 years ago – a game I participated in.
My former teammate Gilchrist said the performance was the better of the two. I concur. Given the difficulty of the wicket and the context of the game situation, the innings will go down as a highlight of Ashes history.
Tactical Moves
It was a courageous move for Australia to promote Head up the order for the follow-on.
Usman Khawaja has faced criticism for being failing to start in both attempts. 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 advanced Marnus Labuschagne and got stuck.
In promoting the aggressive batsman, who has the experience 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 next match. I'd like to see them continue the approach of attacking play at the beginning.
That could mean Head remains, meaning a player such as Beau Webster enters the batting lineup, or return to number five and the all-rounder or the keeper could move to the top. It would be tough on Khawaja, but occasionally you have to do what the rival team would find most uncomfortable.
Series Outlook
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 essentially the quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batters should get a little bit of respite from here onward.
It is not all about the pitch. Recognition has to be awarded to the bowlers for delivering the ball in the right place consistently. In general, batters on each team will need to analyze how they were dismissed.
Pivotal Match
Now we progress to the next venue, and the vastly different day-night conditions for the following match.
In the historic series, I was a member of the national side that dominated England to win 5-0. Ashes series in this country have a tendency of slipping from England quickly.
At the moment, England are only 1-0 down. There would be no recovery from 2-0, which is why Brisbane is such a massive game.
They need to adjust, or the historic urn will be gone once more.