Ashes news: Five takeaways from the first Test as Australia trounce England and Bazball questioned

England arrived for the first Ashes Test in Perth armed with Bazball’s audacious spirit – but by the end of day two, they had been torn apart by Australia.

By all accounts, the 2025/26 Ashes opener had raised an uncomfortable question: Is the aggressive, all-guns-blazing philosophy that has defined England under Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes going to be ill-suited to conditions Down Under?

Here, Sports News Blitz writer Jameel Mulla takes a look at five things we learnt across the two-day Test match in this regard.

Two-day Tests possible thanks to Bazball

A Test match finishing inside two days is extremely rare in the modern era, especially with improved pitch preparation and better batting techniques.

The Perth Test breaking this trend highlights several revealing points for the touring side.

Once early wickets fell for England, the batting line-up showed signs of rushed decision-making, resulting in rash shots and egotistic ideas.

It reinforces the fact that the margin for error in Australia is tiny – the bounce, pace, and carry in Perth demanded precise judgement of length, which is something England never managed to settle into.

The (lack of) preparation has also been used as a scapegoat and rightly so.

When a match finishes quickly, it’s usually because batters made clustered errors in reading length, footwork, or playing with soft hands.

So yes, it was a two-day Test but more importantly, it was a window into how vulnerable teams still are when they fail to adapt.

It wasn’t the occasion – it was the inability to react to match conditions with technique and temperament.

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Fast bowling remains the decisive weapon

Mitchell Starc’s 10 wickets were spectacular, but the broader lesson was about how elite fast bowling still dictates Test matches.

Late swing at high pace is nearly unplayable, especially Down Under.

Starc mixed full, swinging deliveries with shorter ones that climbed awkwardly, with the variation preventing England from settling.

In the end, Australia's quicks bowled a testing length, while England’s bowlers were slightly too short early on, allowing the hosts to adjust more comfortably.

Australia moreover created pressure in partnerships, built around Starc’s strike power, but England could not generate the same relentless consistency.

Bowling discipline still beats aggressive batting at the end of the day.

When bowlers maintain pressure for long enough, even attacking teams like England eventually crack.

As a result, this Test showed once again why a great fast-bowling attack remains the most valuable asset in cricket, especially on Australian soil.

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Poor batting decisions lead to collapses

The real story was England’s repeated pattern of poor batting decisions as batters consistently chased deliveries that should have been left alone.

Their dismissals across both innings showed a lack of discipline and adaptability, something that is essential in Australian conditions.

On a pitch with true bounce and carry, the safe option early on is to leave anything not threatening the stumps.

Instead, England pushed hard at wide balls, resulting in multiple edges and soft dismissals.

Several batters were caught in ‘no man’s land’, neither fully forward nor fully back.

Against the pace and bounce of Starc, indecision is fatal and batters need commitment to a movement, but England often hesitated, allowing the ball to find the edge.

The tourists’ approach under Bazball encourages positive intent, but intent must adapt to conditions.

In Perth, England needed to absorb pressure, blunt the new ball, and build partnerships.

They decided to play as though attacking from the outset was compulsory, even when the situation demanded patience.

Australia, to be fair, bowled a disciplined length perfect for the conditions.

England, by contrast, played with hard hands and failed to let the ball come to them – these are fundamental skills required to succeed in Australia.

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Head an aggressive batting case study

Travis Head didn’t just score quickly – he executed a strategic masterpiece of controlled aggression, attacking lengths England wanted to defend with.

Good-length balls were punched or driven with authority, instantly putting bowlers under pressure.

He also disrupted field settings as England had to abandon attacking fields and move to defensive shapes, which was a tactical win for Australia.

Head further removed scoreboard pressure entirely.

With 205 to win, a few early wickets could’ve created tension, but Head’s innings killed the contest before England could build.

His effort was a perfect demonstration of blending modern batting philosophy with positive intent, selective aggression, and situational awareness.

It showed that attacking cricket can win Test matches when intelligence underpins the aggression.

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England’s poor shot selection proves costly

England’s dismissals were not the result of unplayable deliveries.

Instead, they were a failure to adapt Bazball to conditions.

Positive intent is a strength, but Perth required tighter decision making and patience early on which England didn’t display, especially the promising Harry Brook.

Over-attacking balls that demanded respect was the unfortunate mantra that England followed – many wickets fell to lines that should have been left alone or defended.

The willingness to play aggressively simply turned into poor judgement.

Perth didn’t discredit Bazball, but it reinforced a crucial point that Bazball only works when aggression is paired with precise shot selection and situational reading – a bit like what Head displayed.

England were bold but not smart and in Australia, that combination is punished.

As the series moves on from Perth, the pressure shifts firmly onto England ahead of the second Test, with conditions at the Gabba likely to play a crucial role.

The next Test being a pink-ball one is also a spanner in the works, creating all sorts of pressure, but England need to bounce back well in order to remain relevant in the series.

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