Ashes 2025: Glenn McGrath on Baseball and England’s failures

For Australia to fight back and win the first Ashes Test as decisively as they did, you wonder what scars would be left on the England team.

What will they do for the rest of the series?

I don’t think anyone expected what happened on Saturday. When you look at the number of overs that were made to complete the game, this was cricket’s test of rapid progress.

England were in the lead at lunch on the second day, 105 runs behind with nine wickets in hand. The stadium was still doing a lot. It looked very difficult for Australia to get back into the match.

From that moment on, England’s shot selection was their major undoing. Scott Bolland produced arguably his worst performance in an Australia shirt in the first half, then turned things around in the second half to provide the catalyst for a comeback.

The English batsmen were trying to hit balls outside the off stump, over the top, through the covers.

Trying to score those runs with those shots is the one thing you don’t do as a batsman in Australia.

It showed that England had not done their homework, were unable or unwilling to adapt.

There is a lot of talk about England’s style and aggressive style. I watched it up close during the 2023 Ashes in the UK. Under Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum, they can be very stubborn when it comes to committing to this approach.

He is good on slow and low pitches. On the fast, bouncy courts of Australia, this method is risky. If England don’t re-evaluate, they will struggle for the entire series.

As a footballer, I would always feel that way in the match against this English team.

I relied on my accuracy, backing myself up to hit the same spot inside or outside the stump, with little bounce or impact.

Even if England’s team is going well, I’ll be licking my lips at the prospect of bowling to them, knowing that one mistake could lead to three or four.

There are times when England can be a quality team. They have good players. Good players have skill, but great players have the mental toughness and attitudes that enable them to adapt sufficiently to circumstances.

They were shocked by the way things had unfolded at Perth Stadium, and devastated by the way they were beaten. Now we will see what they are made of. Even as a true blue Aussie, part of me wants to see them change, just to show that they can improve.

It was almost the same with their bowling. England’s attack was very good on the first night, then they lost their streak when they were exposed on the second night.

In Test cricket, all disciplines require a plan B. Too often, England seems to have one way, and then nowhere to go if it doesn’t work.