I’d be licking my lips bowling to England – McGrath

You wonder what scars the England team will leave behind if they win the first Ashes Test with the same vigor they did.

What will they accomplish throughout the series?

Nobody, in my opinion, had anticipated what transpired on Saturday. It was Test cricket on fast forward when you consider how many overs were needed to finish the match.

At lunch on the second day, England were 105 points clear with nine wickets in hand. The pitch was still making a lot of noise. Australia’s chances of winning the match looked so slim.

The big mistake made England’s shot selection right away. In the first innings of an Australia shirt, Scott Boland probably had his worst performance, but in the second, he turned things around to make a comeback and led the charge.

England’s batters were attempting to hit balls through the covers, up, and off stump.

You as a batter in Australia simply do not try to score those deliveries off those shots.

It demonstrated that England had neglected to do their homework, were unable to adapt, or were unwilling to adapt.

There is a lot of discussion about England’s strategy and aggressiveness. During the UK’s Ashes in 2023, I got a close look at it. When it comes to sticking with that approach, Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum can be a little reticent.

On slow, low pitches, it works fine. It is a dangerous approach on Australia’s fast, bouncy pitches. England will struggle the entire series if they don’t make a new one.

I would have always felt when I played for this England team as a bowler.

I leaned on my accuracy, backing myself with a little bounce and nip to hit the same spot on or off stump.

Even if this England team was performing well, I would be licking my lips knowing that three or four mistakes could happen to them.

England can play a high-quality team at times. They possess skilled players. Great players possess skill, but great players possess the mental toughness and attitude to handle any situation.

They would be devastated by the beatings they received at Perth Stadium and shellshocked by how they were treated there. We’ll see what they’re made of at this point. Part of me wants to see them change even as a true blue Australian in order to demonstrate that they can improve.

Their bowling was essentially the same. The first evening’s attack was excellent, but the plot was lost when the second night’s attack was carried out.

In fairness to England’s bowlers, Travis Head’s Ashes innings was one of the best.

I played in the Ashes cricket team that I played in 19 years ago, where he set the record for the second-fastest century by an Australian man in that same year, 12 balls behind Adam Gilchrist.

My former teammate Gilly claimed Head’s innings was the better of the two. I concur. Head’s knock will be remembered as an Ashes moment because of the pitch’s difficulty and the match situation’s context.

Australia’s promotion of Head up the order for the second innings was a bold and brave move.

Because he couldn’t start either innings, Usman Khawaja did it. I don’t think there was a connection between the two incidents, but he did experience back spasms after playing golf the day before the test.

Australia promoted Marnus Labuschagne and became embroiled in a situation where Khawaja fell short on day one.

Australia were able to defeat England by moving Head, who has the confidence to start playing white ball cricket.

What will Australia do in the second Test, then? I want them to continue using the highest-order method of aggression.

Head could stay in place, leading to the introduction of someone like Beau Webster, or Head could return to number five and Josh Inglis could take the spot. Khawaja would be tough, but occasionally you have to do what the opposition would find most uncomfortable.

Some are wondering if the series’ remaining short, low-scoring Tests will be followed by the bowlers after the first Test was predominated by the bowlers.

The batters should enjoy a little respite from now because Perth Stadium is essentially the fastest, busiest pitch in the world.

The pitch is not all that important. The bowlers deserve praise for consistently placing the ball in the right spot. Overall, batters on both sides will need to consider how they exited.

Moving on to Brisbane and the dramatically different day-night conditions for the second Test.

I played for the Australia team that overcame England in 2006-2007 and won 5-5. This nation’s ashes series often departs quickly from England.

England are currently tied with Japan 1-0. Without a 2-0 victory, no one would be able to win.

They must change, or the Ashes will disappear altogether.