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For Australia to bounce back and claim victory in the opening Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what psychological damage will be inflicted upon 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 number of overs taken to complete the game, it was Test cricket on accelerated pace.

England were clearly dominant at lunch on the second day, 105 ahead with most wickets in hand. The pitch was still doing plenty. It looked so tough for Australia to get back into the match.

Shot Selection Woes

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 initial batting, then completely reversed in the subsequent innings to be the driving force for the recovery.

England's batsmen were out trying to hit balls outside off stump, on the up, through the covers.

Trying to score off those deliveries, with those shots, is the precise action you just should avoid as a batsman in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

It demonstrated that England had not done their preparation, are not able to adjust or are unwilling to adapt.

There is much discussion about England's approach, their attacking philosophy. I observed it up close during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Under their captain and Brendon McCullum, they can be pretty stubborn when it comes to adhering to that method.

It is fine on slow, low pitches. On the quick, lively pitches of Australia it is a method fraught with danger. If England do not reassess, they will struggle for the whole series.

Pacer's Viewpoint

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

I relied on my accuracy, having confidence to land the identical area around off stump, with a bit of bounce and nip.

Even if this England team was going well, I'd be eagerly anticipating at the prospect of bowling to them, knowing a single error could result in multiple wickets.

Quality and Mental Toughness

There are occasions when England can be a high-quality team. They have good players. Good players have skill, but exceptional athletes have the psychological strength and attitude to be flexible enough for the situation.

They would been stunned at the way things unfolded at Perth Stadium, crushed at the way they were defeated. Now we will see what they are capable of. Even as a true blue Australian, I somewhat wants to see them adapt, just to show they can get better.

Pace Attack Issues

It was similar with their bowling. England's bowling unit was very good on the first evening, then lost direction when they were attacked on the second night.

In the longest format, all aspects require a Plan B. Quite often it feels like England have a single approach, then no alternatives if that does not work.

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Brilliant Innings

In defense to England's bowlers, they were hit by one of the memorable Ashes innings by Travis Head.

His century off 69 deliveries was the second fastest by an Australian batsman in the historic rivalry, two overs behind Adam Gilchrist at the Waca 19 years ago – a match I participated in.

My former teammate Gilchrist said the performance was the superior of the two. I agree. Considering the challenging nature of the wicket and the situation of the match situation, Head's knock will be remembered as a moment of cricket lore.

Tactical Moves

It was a courageous move for Australia to elevate Head in the lineup for the follow-on.

Usman Khawaja has faced criticism for being failing to start in both attempts. He had back spasms after playing golf the day before the Test, but I do not believe the two were linked.

When the batsman missed out on the opening day, Australia promoted their number three and got stuck.

In moving the aggressive batsman, who has the confidence of starting in limited overs, Australia were able to go on offensive to England.

Upcoming Decisions

Now there is the issue of what Australia will do for the second Test. I'd like to see them stick with the approach of aggression at the beginning.

That could mean continuation at the top, 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 top. It would be difficult for the batsman, but sometimes you have to do what the rival team would find most challenging.

Tournament Perspective

After the first Test was controlled by the pace attack, some are wondering if the rest of series will be short, low-scoring Tests.

The venue is pretty much the quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batters should get a little bit of respite from now on.

It is not all about the pitch. Recognition has to be awarded to the pacemen for getting the ball in the correct areas so often. Overall, batsmen on each team will need to look at how they got themselves out.

Pivotal Match

Now we move on to Brisbane, and the completely distinct twilight conditions for the following match.

In the historic series, I was a member of the national side that dominated England to win 5-0. The rivalry in this nation have a tendency of slipping from England quickly.

At the moment, England are only 1-0 down. There would be no recovery from two down, which is why Brisbane is such a crucial game.

They need to adjust, or the historic urn will be gone again.