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

What are they going to do for the remaining series?

Surprising Comeback

I believe no one expected what happened on Saturday. When you look at the quantity of deliveries taken to finish the game, it was Test cricket on accelerated pace.

England were well on top at the midday break on the following day, 105 ahead with nine 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 point, England's shot selection was their major downfall. The Australian bowler put in arguably his poorest performance in an national colors in the initial batting, then turned it around in the second to be the catalyst for the comeback.

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

Attempting runs off those deliveries, with those shots, is the precise action you just do not do as a batsman in Australia.

Adaptation Issues

It showed that England had not done their preparation, are not able to adapt or are reluctant to adapt.

There is a lot of talk about England's approach, their aggressive style. I observed it firsthand during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and their coach, they can be quite rigid when it comes to adhering to that strategy.

It is fine on sluggish pitches. On the quick, lively pitches of Australia it is a approach fraught with danger. If England do not reassess, they will struggle for the entire series.

Bowling Perspective

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

I depended on my precision, having confidence to hit 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 facing them, knowing one mistake could result in multiple wickets.

Skill and Resilience

There are times when England can be a top-class team. They have talented individuals. Good players have skill, but great players have the psychological strength and mindset to be adaptable enough for the situation.

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, I somewhat wants to see them adapt, just to show they can improve.

Bowling Concerns

It was almost the same with their bowling. England's attack was excellent on the opening day, then lost the plot when they were attacked on the following day.

In the longest format, all aspects require a backup strategy. Quite often it feels like England have a single approach, then nowhere to go if that does not work.

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Head's Masterclass

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

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

My old mate Gilchrist said Head's innings was the better of the two. I concur. Considering the challenging nature of the wicket and the context of the match situation, the innings will go down as a highlight of cricket lore.

Strategic Decisions

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

Usman Khawaja has copped it for being failing to start in both attempts. He had back spasms after playing golf the previous day the Test, but I don't think the two were connected.

When Khawaja failed on the opening day, Australia promoted Marnus Labuschagne and got stuck.

In moving the aggressive batsman, who has the experience of opening 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 top of the order.

That could mean Head remains, meaning someone like the all-rounder enters the middle order, or Head could go back to his position and the all-rounder or the keeper 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.

Tournament Perspective

After the opening match was dominated by the bowlers, some are wondering if the remaining series will be short, low-scoring Tests.

The venue is pretty much the quickest, liveliest pitch in the world, so the batsmen should get a little bit of respite from here onward.

It is not all about the wicket. Recognition has to be given 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.

Crucial Next Test

Now we move on to Brisbane, and the completely distinct day-night conditions for the second Test.

In the historic series, I was part of the Australia team that overwhelmed England to achieve 5-0. Ashes series in this country have a tendency of slipping from England rapidly.

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

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