For Australia to bounce back and win the opening Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what psychological damage will be left on the England team.
How will they respond for the remaining series?
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 clearly dominant at the midday break on the following day, leading by 105 runs with nine wickets in hand. The pitch was still offering assistance. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to re-enter the match.
From that point, England's shot selection was their big undoing. The Australian bowler put in probably his worst performance in an national colors in the first innings, then completely reversed in the second to be the catalyst for the recovery.
England's batsmen were out trying to hit balls wide of off-stump, in the air, through the covers.
Attempting runs off those deliveries, with those strokes, is the precise action you just should avoid as a batter in Australia.
It showed that England had failed to complete their preparation, are unable to adjust or are reluctant to change approach.
There is much discussion about England's method, their aggressive style. I witnessed 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 adhering to that method.
It is acceptable on sluggish pitches. On the fast, bouncy pitches of Australia it is a approach fraught with danger. If England fail to reconsider, they will face difficulties for the whole series.
As a paceman, I would have always felt in the contest against this England team.
I relied on my precision, backing myself to hit the identical area on or outside off stump, with a some bounce and movement.
Even if this England team was performing strongly, I'd be eagerly anticipating at the idea of bowling to them, aware a single error could result in multiple wickets.
There are times when England can be a high-quality team. They have good players. Good players have skill, but great players have the psychological strength and mindset to be adaptable enough for the conditions.
They would been stunned at the way events developed 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, part of me wants to see them adapt, just to show they can improve.
It was similar with their pace attack. England's bowling unit was very good on the first evening, then lost direction when they were put under pressure on the second night.
In the longest format, all disciplines require a Plan B. Frequently it seems England have a single approach, then nowhere to go if that does not work.
'Where has this come from?' - The dismissal as England collapse in quick succession
In defense to England's pace attack, they were hit by one of the memorable Ashes innings by Travis Head.
His century off 69 deliveries was the second quickest by an Australian man in the historic rivalry, two overs behind the legendary keeper at the Perth ground 19 years ago – a match I played in.
My old mate Gilly said Head's innings was the superior of the two. I concur. Considering the difficulty of the wicket and the situation of the match situation, the innings will go down as a highlight of cricket lore.
It was a courageous move for Australia to promote Head up the order for the follow-on.
The opener has copped it for being failing to start in both attempts. He had muscle issues after playing golf the previous day the Test, but I do not believe the two were linked.
When Khawaja failed on day one, Australia advanced their number three and got stuck.
In promoting Head, who has the confidence of opening in limited overs, Australia were able to take the attack to England.
Now there is the issue of what Australia will do for the second Test. I'd like to see them stick with the method of attacking play at the beginning.
That could mean Head remains, meaning a player such as the all-rounder enters the batting lineup, or Head could go back to his position and Mitchell Marsh or Josh Inglis could move to the top. It would be difficult for Khawaja, but occasionally you have to do what the rival team would find most uncomfortable.
After the opening match was controlled by the pace attack, questions arise if the rest of series will be short, low-scoring Tests.
The venue is essentially the quickest, liveliest pitch in the global cricket, so the batsmen should get a little bit of respite from now on.
It is not all about the wicket. Recognition has to be awarded to the pacemen for delivering the ball in the right place so often. Overall, batsmen on both sides will need to analyze how they got themselves out.
Now we move on to the next venue, and the vastly different twilight conditions for the second Test.
In 2006-07, I was part of the national side that overwhelmed England to achieve 5-0. The rivalry in this country have a tendency of slipping from England quickly.
At the present, England are only 1-0 down. There would be no coming back from two down, which is why Brisbane is such a massive game.
They need to adjust, or the Ashes will be gone once more.
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