I'd Be Licking My Lips Facing England - Glenn McGrath
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For Australia to bounce back and claim victory in the first Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what scars will be left on the England team.
What are they going to do for the rest of series?
Surprising Comeback
I do not think anyone anticipated what transpired on the weekend. When you examine the quantity of deliveries taken to complete the game, it was the longest format on fast forward.
England were clearly dominant at lunch on the second day, leading by 105 runs with most wickets in hand. The pitch was still doing plenty. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match.
Shot Selection Woes
From that point, England's choice of strokes was their big undoing. Scott Boland put in arguably his poorest performance in an national colors in the initial batting, then turned it around in the subsequent innings to be the driving force for the recovery.
England's batters were out attempting to strike balls wide of off-stump, on the up, through the covers.
Attempting runs off those deliveries, with those shots, is the precise action you just do not do as a batsman in Australia.
Adaptation Issues
It showed that England had failed to complete their homework, are not able to adapt or are reluctant to change approach.
There is a lot of talk about England's approach, their aggressive style. I witnessed it up close during the recent series in the UK. Under their captain and their coach, they can be quite rigid when it comes to sticking with that strategy.
It is acceptable 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 entire series.
Bowling Perspective
As a paceman, I would have always felt in the contest against this England team.
I depended on my precision, backing myself to land the same spot 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 idea 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 talented individuals. Competent cricketers have ability, but exceptional athletes have the mental toughness 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 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 get better.
Bowling Concerns
It was similar with their pace attack. England's attack was very good on the first evening, then lost the plot when they were put under pressure on the following day.
In Test cricket, all disciplines require a Plan B. Quite often 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 confronted with one of the memorable Ashes innings by the Australian batsman.
His century off 69 deliveries was the second quickest by an Australian man in the historic rivalry, two overs behind Adam Gilchrist at the Waca previously – a game I participated in.
My old mate Gilchrist said the performance was the superior of the two. I concur. Considering the challenging nature of the wicket and the situation of the match circumstances, the innings will go down as a moment of Ashes history.
Strategic Decisions
It was a courageous move for Australia to promote the batsman in the lineup for the follow-on.
Usman Khawaja has copped it for being failing to start in both attempts. He had back spasms after playing the sport the day before the Test, but I do not believe the two were connected.
When Khawaja failed on day one, Australia promoted Marnus Labuschagne and got stuck.
In moving the aggressive batsman, who has the confidence of opening 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 next match. I'd like to see them continue 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 the keeper could move to the top. It would be difficult for the batsman, but sometimes you have to do what the opposition would find most challenging.
Tournament Perspective
After the opening match was dominated by the bowlers, questions arise if the remaining series will be short, low-scoring Tests.
The venue is pretty much the quickest, liveliest pitch in the global cricket, so the batsmen should get a little bit of respite from now on.
It is not entirely about the pitch. Credit has to be given to the pacemen for delivering the ball in the correct areas so often. In general, batsmen on both sides will need to analyze how they got themselves out.
Pivotal Match
Now we move on to the next venue, and the completely distinct twilight conditions for the following match.
In 2006-07, I was a member of the national side that overwhelmed England to win 5-0. The rivalry in this nation have a tendency of getting away from England rapidly.
At the present, England are only 1-0 down. There would be no recovery from 2-0, which is why the venue is such a crucial game.
They need to adjust, or the historic urn will be gone once more.