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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 psychological damage will be left on the England team.

How will they respond for the rest of series?

Surprising Comeback

I do not think no one anticipated what happened on Saturday. When you examine the quantity of deliveries required to complete the game, it was Test cricket on fast forward.

England were clearly dominant at the midday break on the following day, 105 ahead with nine wickets in hand. The playing surface 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. The Australian bowler put in arguably his poorest performance in an Australia shirt in the first innings, then completely reversed in the second to be the driving force for the recovery.

England's batsmen were out attempting to strike balls wide of off-stump, on the up, towards cover region.

Trying to score off those bowls, with those strokes, is the one thing you just should avoid as a batter in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

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

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

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

Bowling Perspective

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

I relied on my accuracy, backing myself to land the identical area on or outside off stump, with a bit of bounce and nip.

Even if this England team was going well, I'd be eagerly anticipating at the idea of facing them, aware one mistake could result in three or four wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are occasions when England can be a top-class team. They have good players. 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 things unfolded at the venue, devastated at the way they were defeated. Now we will see what they are made of. Even as a true blue Australian, part of me 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 first evening, then lost direction when they were put under pressure on the second night.

In Test cricket, all aspects require a Plan B. Quite often it seems England have a single approach, then nowhere to go if that fails.

'Where has this come from?' - Starc bowls Root as England collapse in six balls

Brilliant Innings

In fairness to England's bowlers, they were confronted with one of the great Ashes innings by Travis Head.

His century off 69 deliveries was the second fastest by an Australian batsman in Ashes cricket, 12 balls behind Adam Gilchrist at the Perth ground previously – a match I played in.

My old mate Gilly said the performance was the better of the two. I concur. Given the challenging nature of the pitch and the context of the game situation, Head's knock will go down as a moment of cricket lore.

Tactical Moves

It was a bold and brave move for Australia to promote the batsman in the lineup for the follow-on.

The opener has faced criticism for being failing to start in both attempts. He had muscle issues after playing the sport the day before the Test, but I do not believe the two were linked.

When the batsman failed on the opening day, Australia advanced their number three and got stuck.

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

Future Considerations

Now there is the question 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 continuation at the top, meaning a player such as Beau Webster enters 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 tough on Khawaja, but sometimes you have to do what the opposition would find most uncomfortable.

Tournament Perspective

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

Perth Stadium is essentially the quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batsmen should get a some relief from here onward.

It is not entirely about the pitch. Recognition has to be awarded to the bowlers for delivering the ball in the right place so often. Overall, batters on each team will need to look at how they got themselves out.

Pivotal Match

Now we progress to Brisbane, and the vastly different twilight conditions for the second Test.

In the historic series, I was a member of the national side that dominated England to win 5-0. Ashes series in this nation have a tendency of getting away from England rapidly.

At the moment, England are just one match down. There would be no recovery from two down, which is why Brisbane is such a crucial game.

They must adapt, or the historic urn will be lost once more.