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The Australian team to fight back and claim victory in the first Ashes Test so convincingly as they did, one questions what psychological damage will be inflicted upon the England team.

How will they respond for the rest of series?

Unexpected Turnaround

I do not think anyone anticipated what transpired on the weekend. When you examine the number of overs taken to complete the game, it was the longest format on fast forward.

England were well on top at the midday break on the second day, leading by 105 runs with most wickets in hand. The playing surface was still doing plenty. It looked so tough for Australia to get back into the match.

Shot Selection Woes

From that moment, England's choice of strokes was their major downfall. The Australian bowler put in arguably his poorest performance in an Australia shirt 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 outside off stump, on the up, towards cover region.

Attempting runs off those deliveries, with those strokes, is the one thing you just should avoid as a batsman in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

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

There is much discussion about England's approach, their attacking philosophy. 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 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 fail to reconsider, they will struggle for the entire series.

Pacer's Viewpoint

As a paceman, I would have consistently believed in the game against this England team.

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

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

Quality and Mental Toughness

There are occasions when England can be a top-class 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 events developed at Perth Stadium, devastated at the way they were defeated. Now we will see what they are made 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 direction when they were attacked on the second night.

In Test cricket, all disciplines 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

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 69-ball hundred was the second fastest by an Australian man in Ashes cricket, 12 balls behind Adam Gilchrist at the Waca 19 years ago – a match I played in.

My old mate Gilly said Head's innings was the superior of the two. I agree. 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.

Tactical Moves

It was a bold and brave move for Australia to elevate Head up the order for the follow-on.

The opener has copped it for being failing to start in either innings. He had back spasms after playing the sport the day before the Test, but I don't think the two were linked.

When the batsman failed on the opening day, Australia promoted their number three and got bogged down.

In promoting Head, who has the confidence of starting in white-ball cricket, Australia were able to take the attack to England.

Upcoming Decisions

Now there is the issue of what Australia will do for the next match. I'd like to see them stick with the approach of attacking play at the beginning.

That could mean Head remains, 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 the keeper could go to the opening. It would be tough on 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 pace attack, questions arise if the rest of series will be brief, low-run Tests.

Perth Stadium is essentially the quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batters should get a little bit of respite from here onward.

It is not entirely about the wicket. Recognition has to be awarded to the bowlers for delivering the ball in the correct areas consistently. Overall, batters on both sides will need to analyze how they were dismissed.

Pivotal Match

Now we progress to Brisbane, and the completely distinct day-night conditions for the following match.

In 2006-07, I was part of the Australia team that dominated England to win 5-0. Ashes series in this nation have a tendency of slipping from England rapidly.

At the present, England are just one match down. There would be no coming back from 2-0, which is why the venue is such a massive game.

They need to adjust, or the Ashes will be gone once more.