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For Australia to fight back and claim victory in the opening 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?

Surprising Comeback

I do not think no one expected what happened on the weekend. When you look at the number of overs taken to finish the game, it was Test cricket on accelerated pace.

England were clearly dominant at lunch on the second day, 105 ahead 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 national colors in the first innings, then completely reversed in the second to be the driving force for the comeback.

England's batters were out attempting to strike 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 do not do as a batter in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

It demonstrated that England had not done their preparation, are unable to adapt or are unwilling to change approach.

There is a lot of talk about England's method, their attacking philosophy. I observed it up close during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Under their captain and their coach, they can be pretty stubborn when it comes to adhering to that strategy.

It is acceptable on sluggish pitches. On the quick, lively pitches of Australia it is a approach fraught with danger. If England fail to reconsider, they will struggle for the entire series.

Bowling Perspective

As a bowler, I would have consistently believed in the game against this England team.

I depended on my accuracy, backing myself to land the identical area on or outside off stump, with a some bounce and movement.

Even if this England team was going well, I'd be eagerly anticipating at the prospect of bowling to them, knowing one mistake could bring multiple wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are occasions when England can be a top-class team. They have good players. Competent cricketers have skill, but great players have the psychological strength and mindset to be adaptable enough for the conditions.

They would been shellshocked at the way events developed at Perth Stadium, devastated at the way they were defeated. Now we will see what they are capable of. Even as a loyal Australian, I somewhat wants to see them adapt, just to show they can improve.

Bowling Concerns

It was almost the same with their pace attack. England's bowling unit was excellent on the first evening, then lost the plot when they were put under pressure on the following day.

In the longest format, all aspects require a backup strategy. Frequently it feels like England have a single approach, then no alternatives if that fails.

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Brilliant Innings

In fairness 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 quickest by an Australian man in the historic rivalry, 12 balls behind Adam Gilchrist at the Perth ground previously – a game I played in.

My old mate Gilly said Head's innings was the superior of the two. I concur. Considering the difficulty of the pitch and the context of the game circumstances, the innings will be remembered as a moment of Ashes history.

Tactical Moves

It was a courageous move for Australia to elevate the batsman up the order for the follow-on.

The opener has copped it for being unable to open in either innings. He had muscle issues after playing golf the day before the Test, but I don't think the two were linked.

When Khawaja failed on day one, Australia advanced their number three and got stuck.

In promoting the aggressive batsman, who has the experience of starting in white-ball cricket, Australia were able to go on offensive to England.

Upcoming Decisions

Now there is the question 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 someone like the all-rounder comes into the batting lineup, or Head could go back to number five and Mitchell Marsh or Josh Inglis could move to the top. It would be tough on Khawaja, but sometimes you have to do what the opposition would find most challenging.

Series Outlook

After the opening match was dominated by the pace attack, some are wondering if the rest of series will be short, low-scoring Tests.

Perth Stadium is essentially the fastest, bounciest pitch in the global cricket, so the batters should get a some respite from here onward.

It is not all about the pitch. Credit has to be given to the pacemen for delivering the ball in the correct areas consistently. Overall, batsmen on each team will need to look at how they were dismissed.

Pivotal Match

Now we progress to Brisbane, and the completely distinct day-night conditions for the second Test.

In the historic series, I was a member of the national side that dominated England to achieve 5-0. The rivalry in this country have a habit of slipping 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 massive game.

They must adapt, or the historic urn will be lost once more.