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For Australia to bounce back and claim victory in the opening Ashes Test so convincingly as they did, one questions what scars will be left on the England team.

What are they going to do for the remaining series?

Surprising Comeback

I do not think no one expected what happened on the weekend. When you examine the number of overs required to complete the game, it was Test cricket on fast forward.

England were well on top at lunch on the second day, leading by 105 runs with nine wickets in hand. The playing surface was still offering assistance. It looked extremely difficult for Australia to get back into the match.

Shot Selection Woes

From that point, England's shot selection was their big undoing. Scott Boland put in arguably his poorest performance in an national colors in the initial batting, then turned it around in the subsequent innings to be the driving force for the comeback.

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

Attempting runs off those deliveries, with those strokes, is the one thing you just do not do as a batter in Australia.

Adjustment Problems

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

There is much discussion about England's approach, their attacking philosophy. I witnessed it firsthand 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 method.

It is acceptable on sluggish pitches. On the quick, lively pitches of Australia it is a approach fraught with danger. If England fail to reconsider, they will face difficulties for the entire series.

Bowling Perspective

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

I depended on my precision, backing myself to land the same spot around off stump, with a some bounce and nip.

Even if this England team was going well, I'd be licking my lips at the prospect of bowling to them, aware one mistake could result in multiple wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are occasions when England can be a high-quality team. They have talented individuals. Good players have skill, but great players have the mental toughness and mindset to be adaptable enough for the conditions.

They would been stunned at the way events developed at the venue, devastated at the way they were defeated. Now we will see what they are capable of. Even as a true blue Australian, part of me wants to see them change, just to show they can improve.

Bowling Concerns

It was almost the same with their pace attack. England's bowling unit was very good on the opening day, then lost the plot when they were attacked on the second night.

In Test cricket, all aspects require a backup strategy. 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 six balls

Brilliant Innings

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

His century off 69 deliveries was the second fastest by an Australian man in the historic rivalry, 12 balls behind the legendary keeper at the Perth ground 19 years ago – a game I played in.

My former teammate Gilchrist said Head's innings was the better of the two. I agree. Considering the difficulty of the pitch and the situation of the game situation, the innings will go down as a moment of Ashes history.

Tactical Moves

It was a courageous move for Australia to elevate the batsman in the lineup 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 day before the Test, but I don't think the two were connected.

When Khawaja missed out on day one, Australia promoted their number three and got bogged down.

In promoting the aggressive batsman, who has the experience of starting in limited overs, Australia were able to take the attack to England.

Future Considerations

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 aggression at the top of the order.

That could mean continuation at the top, meaning someone like Beau Webster enters the middle order, or Head could go back to number five and Mitchell Marsh or Josh Inglis could move to the opening. It would be difficult for Khawaja, but occasionally you have to do what the opposition would find most uncomfortable.

Series Outlook

After the opening match was dominated by the bowlers, questions arise if the remaining series will be brief, low-run Tests.

The venue is pretty much the fastest, bounciest pitch in the global cricket, so the batters should get a little bit of relief from here onward.

It is not all about the wicket. Credit has to be awarded to the bowlers for delivering the ball in the right place consistently. In general, batters on each team will need to look at how they got themselves out.

Crucial Next Test

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

In the historic series, I was part of the Australia team that overwhelmed England to win 5-0. Ashes series in this country have a habit of getting away from England quickly.

At the present, England are just one match down. There would be no recovery from two down, which is why the venue is such a massive game.

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