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For Australia to bounce back and win the first Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what scars will be inflicted upon the England team.

How will they respond for the remaining 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 fast forward.

England were clearly dominant at lunch on the following 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 moment, England's choice of strokes was their big undoing. Scott Boland put in probably his worst performance in an Australia shirt in the initial batting, then completely reversed in the second to be the catalyst for the comeback.

England's batters were out trying to hit balls outside off stump, on the up, through the covers.

Trying to score off those bowls, 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 preparation, are unable to adapt or are unwilling to change approach.

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 sticking with that method.

It is fine on slow, low pitches. On the fast, bouncy pitches of Australia it is a method full of danger. If England do not reassess, they will face difficulties for the whole series.

Pacer's Viewpoint

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

I relied on my accuracy, backing myself to land the same spot around off stump, with a bit of bounce and nip.

Even if this England team was going well, I'd be licking my lips at the prospect of facing them, aware a single error could result in three or four wickets.

Quality and Mental Toughness

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 mindset to be flexible enough for the conditions.

They would been stunned at the way events developed at the venue, 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 adapt, just to show they can get better.

Bowling Concerns

It was similar with their bowling. England's attack was excellent on the first evening, then lost direction when they were attacked on the following day.

In Test cricket, all disciplines require a Plan B. Quite often it feels like England have one method, then no alternatives if that fails.

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

Head's Masterclass

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

His 69-ball hundred was the second fastest by an Australian batsman in the historic rivalry, 12 balls behind the legendary keeper at the Waca previously – a game I participated in.

My former teammate Gilchrist said the performance was the superior of the two. I concur. Given the difficulty of the pitch and the situation of the match situation, Head's knock will go down as a highlight of cricket lore.

Strategic Decisions

It was a bold and brave move for Australia to elevate the batsman in the lineup for the second innings.

The opener has faced criticism for being unable to open in both attempts. He had muscle issues after playing golf the previous day the Test, but I do not believe the two were connected.

When the batsman missed out on the opening day, Australia promoted Marnus Labuschagne and got bogged down.

In promoting Head, who has the confidence of starting in limited overs, Australia were able to go on offensive to England.

Upcoming Decisions

Now there is the question of what Australia will do for the next match. I'd like to see them continue the approach 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 middle order, or Head could go back to his position and Mitchell Marsh or Josh Inglis could go to the opening. It would be difficult for Khawaja, but sometimes you have to do what the opposition 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.

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

It is not entirely about the wicket. Credit has to be awarded to the pacemen for delivering the ball in the correct areas consistently. Overall, batters on both sides will need to look at how they got themselves out.

Crucial Next Test

Now we progress to the next venue, 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 achieve 5-0. The rivalry in this nation have a tendency of getting away from England quickly.

At the moment, England are only 1-0 down. There would be no coming back from 2-0, which is why the venue is such a massive game.

They must adapt, or the Ashes will be gone again.