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For Australia to fight back and claim victory in the opening Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what scars will be inflicted upon the England team.

What are they going to do for the rest of series?

Surprising Comeback

I believe anyone anticipated what happened on Saturday. When you examine the number of overs taken to finish the game, it was the longest format on accelerated pace.

England were clearly dominant at the midday break on the second day, 105 ahead with most wickets in hand. The playing surface was still offering assistance. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match.

Batting Mistakes

From that moment, England's shot selection was their big undoing. Scott Boland put in arguably his poorest performance in an Australia shirt in the initial batting, then turned it around in the subsequent innings to be the driving force for the comeback.

England's batters were out trying to hit balls outside off stump, in the air, towards cover region.

Attempting runs off those bowls, with those strokes, is the precise action you just should avoid as a batsman in Australia.

Adjustment Problems

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

There is a lot of talk about England's method, their attacking philosophy. I witnessed 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 acceptable on slow, low 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.

Pacer's Viewpoint

As a bowler, I would have always felt in the game against this England team.

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

Even if this England team was performing strongly, I'd be eagerly anticipating at the prospect of facing them, knowing one mistake could bring three or four wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are times when England can be a high-quality team. They have talented individuals. Good players have ability, but great players have the psychological strength and attitude to be adaptable enough for the conditions.

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

Pace Attack Issues

It was similar with their pace attack. England's attack was very good on the opening day, then lost the plot when they were put under pressure on the following day.

In the longest format, all disciplines require a backup strategy. Frequently it feels like England have a single approach, then nowhere to go if that fails.

'Where has this come from?' - The dismissal as England collapse in quick succession

Brilliant Innings

In fairness to England's bowlers, they were hit by one of the memorable Ashes innings by the Australian batsman.

His century off 69 deliveries was the second quickest by an Australian man in Ashes cricket, two overs behind Adam Gilchrist at the Perth ground previously – a match I played in.

My former teammate Gilchrist said the performance was the superior of the two. I agree. Considering the difficulty of the wicket and the context of the game situation, the innings will go down as a moment of Ashes history.

Tactical Moves

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

Usman Khawaja has faced criticism for being failing to start in either innings. He had back spasms after playing golf the day before the Test, but I don't think the two were connected.

When the batsman failed on the opening day, Australia promoted Marnus Labuschagne and got stuck.

In promoting Head, who has the experience of opening in white-ball cricket, Australia were able to take the attack to England.

Future Considerations

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 attacking play at the top of the order.

That could mean Head remains, meaning someone like the all-rounder enters the middle order, or Head could go back to number five and Mitchell Marsh or Josh Inglis could move to the opening. It would be tough on the batsman, but sometimes you have to do what the rival team would find most challenging.

Tournament Perspective

After the first Test was dominated by the bowlers, some are wondering if the remaining series will be short, low-scoring Tests.

The venue is essentially the fastest, bounciest pitch in the world, so the batsmen should get a little bit of relief from now on.

It is not entirely about the wicket. Credit has to be awarded to the pacemen for delivering the ball in the right place consistently. Overall, batsmen on both sides will need to analyze how they got themselves out.

Crucial Next Test

Now we progress to the next venue, and the completely distinct twilight conditions for the following match.

In the historic series, I was a member of the Australia team that overwhelmed England to win 5-0. Ashes series in this nation have a tendency of getting away from England quickly.

At the moment, England are just one match down. There would be no coming back from 2-0, which is why Brisbane is such a massive game.

They need to adjust, or the historic urn will be lost once more.