I'd Be Licking My Lips Facing England - Glenn McGrath

• Published
  9 minutes ago
• 4 Comments

The Australian team to bounce back and claim victory in the opening Ashes Test as decisively as they did, one questions what psychological damage will be left on the England team.

What are they going to do for the remaining series?

Surprising Comeback

I do not think anyone expected what happened on the weekend. When you examine the number of overs taken to finish the game, it was Test cricket on accelerated pace.

England were well on top at the midday break on the second day, leading by 105 runs with nine wickets in hand. The pitch was still doing plenty. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match.

Batting Mistakes

From that point, England's choice of strokes was their big undoing. Scott Boland put in probably his worst performance in an Australia shirt in the first innings, then turned it around in the second to be the catalyst for the comeback.

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 strokes, is the one thing you just do not do as a batter in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

It demonstrated that England had failed to complete their homework, are unable to adapt or are unwilling to adapt.

There is a lot of talk about England's approach, their attacking philosophy. I observed it up close during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, they can be pretty stubborn when it comes to sticking with that strategy.

It is acceptable on sluggish pitches. On the fast, bouncy pitches of Australia it is a method fraught with danger. If England do not reassess, they will face difficulties for the entire series.

Pacer's Viewpoint

As a paceman, I would have always felt in the contest against this England team.

I depended on my precision, having confidence to land the same spot around off stump, with a bit of bounce and movement.

Even if this England team was performing strongly, I'd be licking my lips at the prospect of facing them, knowing one mistake could bring multiple wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are times when England can be a high-quality team. They have good players. Good players have skill, but great players have the mental toughness and mindset to be flexible enough for the situation.

They would been stunned at the way things unfolded at the venue, devastated 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 adapt, just to show they can improve.

Bowling Concerns

It was similar with their bowling. England's bowling unit was very good on the opening day, then lost direction when they were put under pressure on the second night.

In the longest format, all aspects require a Plan B. Quite often it seems England have one method, then nowhere to go if that does not work.

'Where has this come from?' - The dismissal as England lose third wicket in quick succession

Head's Masterclass

In fairness to England's pace attack, they were hit by one of the great Ashes innings by the Australian batsman.

His century off 69 deliveries was the second fastest by an Australian batsman in the historic rivalry, 12 balls behind Adam Gilchrist at the Waca 19 years ago – a game I participated in.

My former teammate Gilchrist said the performance was the better of the two. I concur. Given the challenging nature of the pitch and the context of the game circumstances, the innings will go down as a moment of Ashes history.

Tactical Moves

It was a courageous move for Australia to elevate the batsman up the order for the second innings.

Usman Khawaja has copped it for being failing to start in both attempts. He had muscle issues after playing the sport the previous day the Test, but I do not believe the two were linked.

When the batsman missed out on the opening day, Australia advanced their number three and got bogged down.

In promoting the aggressive batsman, who has the confidence of starting in white-ball cricket, 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 continue the method of attacking play at the top of the order.

That could mean continuation at the top, meaning a player such as the all-rounder comes into the batting lineup, or Head could go back to his position and the all-rounder or Josh Inglis could go to the top. It would be difficult for the batsman, but sometimes you have to do what the rival team would find most challenging.

Series Outlook

After the first Test was dominated by the bowlers, questions arise if the rest of series will be short, low-scoring Tests.

Perth Stadium is pretty much the fastest, bounciest pitch in the world, so the batters should get a some relief from here onward.

It is not all about the pitch. Credit has to be given to the bowlers for delivering the ball in the correct areas consistently. In general, batsmen on both sides will need to look at how they got themselves out.

Pivotal Match

Now we progress to the next venue, and the vastly different twilight conditions for the following match.

In 2006-07, I was a member of the national side that overwhelmed England to achieve 5-0. Ashes series in this country have a tendency of getting away from England quickly.

At the moment, England are just one match 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 Ashes will be gone again.