England have just 12 days to turn around their “brainless” cricket after a demoralising eight-wicket loss to Australia in Perth in an extraordinary start to the Ashes.

The visitors were rolled inside just two days as stars Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Zak Crawley, who made a pair, failed to reach double digits across both innings in worrying signs for their hopes of winning in Australia for the first time since 2010-11.

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“He had answers for everything” | 12:11

While it was jubilation for the Aussies off the back of Travis Head’s remarkable century stand, there’s now big questions over just how the side shapes up for the Second Test in Brisbane given both injury and form concerns.

Here are the Burning Questions heading into the Second Ashes Test…

HOW SCARRED ARE THE ENGLISH?

Sitting pretty at 1-59 at lunch on Saturday in Perth with a lead of 99 on a pitch that generally is at its best late on the second day and through Day 3, England appeared on track to set Australia a massive target.

This was a chance to make a statement in a nation where they have bullied and beaten for the last 15 years, but what followed was nothing short of rubbish.

Losing four wickets in the space of just 19 balls was disastrous and a blow they never recovered from in Perth.

Setting Australia 205 for victory, Travis Head’s incredible record knock (123 off 83 balls) handed England a beatdown not many could have predicted hours earlier.

Australian great Adam Gilchrist described the manner of their defeat as “crushing and demoralising”, while former England skipper Michael Vaughan warned it could haunt the side for the remainder of the tour.

“They’ve missed a golden chance,” Vaughan said.

“They’ve just come out and tried to hit the boundaries – they’ve not thought about the ones and twos and rotation of strike …. It disappoints me hugely. You cannot come in here and win batting playing one way.

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Vaughan slams Poms’ poor decisions | 04:05

“It’s impossible to take on Starc and co. in these conditions, when the ball’s bouncing, by throwing your hands at everything.

“They’ve tried it and they’ve been blown away. And they’ve been blown away in a fashion that let’s be honest, that’s five hours ago England were dominating the game. Five hours later, we sit here, Australia 1-0 up. It’s a long way back for the England team. They gave England a little bit of their own medicine.

“That’s damaging. What Australia have just done to England in those last few hours, is going to damage them for the rest of the series.”

While English talents including Jacob Bethell have the chance to impress in a English Lions match against a Cricket Australia XI at Lilac Hill in suburban Perth on Sunday, Gilchrist told foxsports.com.au he believes they played their best XI.

Aussies claim First Test on day two! | 05:08

“It’s not so much about personnel change. I think that’s their best team. Certainly in the conditions they’re going to, it’s probably still their best team,” Gilchrist, a lead commentator of Kayo Sports coverage of the Ashes this summer, said.

“So it’s not about personnel change. It is more about tactical change, more about mindset change, which I think became more and more obvious throughout both innings.

“They need to be able to adjust. Batting bravely is of paramount importance in any cricket match, but you can be brave in defense as well.”

“Shellshocked” skipper Ben Stokes struggled for words at times when speaking post-match on the eight-wicket loss as he tried to come to terms with a match that had been ripped away from England, but largely due to their own waywardness.

“This is a very tough one to get this series going when you know, we felt we were in control of the game when we were coming out to bowl in that fourth innings,” he said.

“We’ve got four more games here. We’ll let this sink in. But it obviously hurts extremely.

“We’ve got to get our heads round and move onto Brisbane and hit the ground running there. That knock from Travis, it’s knocked the wind out of us.”

Gilchrist said that the opening Test demonstrated England had the firepower to compete and hold the upper-hand on Australia and believes that is something they will focus on when looking towards the Brisbane Test starting December 4.

“As Ben Stokes said, I think it’s obvious they were in a very winning position a couple of times through that Test match, through those two days,” Gilchrist said.

“There were moments where it was ever so close to slipping away from Australia, with them not being able to stay in touch. So that’s the positive for England. They created opportunity, and it’s now just working out how to harness their enthusiasm and (it’s about) not allowing the opposition back in. It’s pretty much as simple as that.”

Counter Punch! – Head scores ICONIC 123 | 06:47

IS HEAD THE RIGHT MAN AT THE TOP?

Debutant Jake Weatherald was the man backed to join Usman Khawaja at the top for the first Ashes Test.

But after just two days, it seems Khawaja’s role as opener is already under pressure with his fitness a major concern.

The Queenslander was unable to open in either innings in Perth as a result of time spent off the field for treatment for a back complaint. When he left the field on Saturday, he was walking like a man twice his age, not surprising given the issue.

Marnus Labuschagne was promoted in the first innings when falling for nine, but with more time to consider the situation, Travis Head volunteered for a role he had played before on the sub-continent.

What happened next will be talked about as a great moment in Ashes history as produced one of the greatest centuries ever seen. As Gilchrist told foxsports.com.au on Saturday night, it was a “Where were you when this happened?” moment.

Equalling the fastest-ever Test century from an opener off just 69 balls, Head delivered an absolute masterclass to take the game away from England and potentially seal himself a spot at the top of the Aussie order.

Should Travis Head remain as an opener? | 07:46

Joking initially that he tried to plead for the role as opener “two years ago”, Head said he was happy to bat wherever required. But he later said there had been discussions among the team about the prospect of him moving up the order.

“I was happy to do it. It doesn’t bother me too much and it was needed (on Saturday),” he said.

“We threw some ideas around (for who needed to replace Khawaja for the second innings), obviously the senior players around the room. I thought there were two or three options (and) I was pretty keen to do it and then luckily Smithy and Ron (coach Andrew McDonald) let me do it.”

While it was jubilation for the Aussies off the back of Head’s knock, former Aussie Test star Mike Hussey isn’t sold on making the Head move permanent.

“I’m not (calling for it) no, but if the situation arose that you need to throw someone up there in certain situations then he is your guy. But I still just think he can be so devastating in the middle order as well,” Hussey said.

Khawaja’s former opening partner Dave Warner believes if fit, the left-hander has done enough to hold his spot for the second Test in Brisbane on what is now his home ground.

“Obviously he’s a very, very close friend on mine (but) at the end of the day, reality can hit,” he said.

“These little misfortunes here with his back, it can put the dampener on that and give the opportunity to someone else. (But) I still think he plays the next Test match.

“Can Travis Head open down the track? We were thinking about that in 2022-23 but at that time we didn’t have that person down the middle to take it on, so that’s why Travis Head was there.”

Smith on “One of the great Ashes knocks” | 14:48

Should Khawaja fail to prove his fitness, a Head promotion to the top could give Beau Webster a Test reprieve after he was left out in Perth.

The likes of Matt Renshaw – who scored a pink-ball century at the Gabba in the Shield on Sunday – plus Josh Inglis and Mitch Marsh are also waiting in the wings should Aussie selectors opt to keep Head in the middle order.

Aussie great Mark Waugh, who is also part of the Kayo Sports coverage of the Ashes this summer, said Renshaw was a candidate he would be considering seriously should a vacancy open up.

“You have got those two (Inglis and Marsh) but then you have got Matt Renshaw and at the Gabba, he has been pretty solid,” Waugh told foxsports.com.au.

“I’d say Marsh will be ahead of Inglis, to be honest. There’s been a lot of whispers around that Mitch Marsh was close to playing here (in Perth), so I would say it is either him or Renshaw if Khawaja isn’t fit for the Gabba.

“But let’s see what happens. There is a big break between games, but they are probably the two main choices for the selectors is that is the case.”

Warner said should selectors persist with Head at the top of the order for the Gabba Test if the veteran Australian Khawaja has not recovered, it might prove the reprieve Beau Webster needs to bat at No.6.

“I don’t know how severe that back injury is. It could be just a spasm. But there is two weeks until the next game. It’s a home Test for Usman Khawaja,” Warner said.

“There’s going to have to be some thinking there from the selectors if they keep pursuing Travis Head there after that knock.”

Weatherald OUT for a Duck! | 01:37

THE CUMMINS CONUNDRUM

Australian selectors are sweating on more than Khawaja’s fitness, with a big decision set to be made in relation to Pat Cummins in terms of whether he returns for the second Test of the summer at the Gabba.

The Aussie skipper told the Kayo Sports coverage on Saturday that after fearing he might not be able to play at all this summer, he was aiming for the Gabba.

But Australia’s win in Perth eases the pressure of rushing his return, Aussie great Adam Gilchrist said in Perth.

“We will wait and see the fitness of Usman, but I think (the win) gives them time to make some decisions and on Cummins availability, he may well be fit and ready, but they might just have bought themselves another game,” Gilchrist said on Saturday night.

“It’s just worked out perfectly for them in that regard, save for Usman’s situation, and Nathan Lyon looked a bit of a sore … but I don’t think that’s something that’s going to hold him up too much.”

Mark Waugh believes it would be a significant risk for Australia to gamble on the fitness of Cummins given they head to Brisbane in the ascendancy, noting there are Tests to follow in Adelaide, Melbourne and Sydney in the series.

“It is a long summer,” Waugh said.

“I don’t think there is any value in rushing him back for the second Test. Why rush him back if he is not quite right? If he gets injured again, then you haven’t got him for the last three Tests. You would have him for one Test instead of potentially three.

“But there is only one person who will know whether they are right or not and that is Pat Cummins. He won’t be stupid enough to be playing if he doesn’t think he is 100 percent. Ninety percent, maybe, but I don’t think rushing him back would be wise.”

EVERY ball of Starc’s opening spell | 08:03

CAN STOKES OVERCOME HIS STARC HOODOO?

England captain Ben Stokes has a dilemma.

He’s become Mitchell Starc’s bunny after a remarkable 11th Test dismissal at the hands of the Aussie ace. And that’s a problem for England this summer.

Stokes averages 34.8 against the Aussies but in Australia that drops to just 26 with the bat.

Former Aussie star Brett Lee says it is now a mental battle for Stokes as he looks ahead to the four remaining Tests.

“You’ve got to take the player’s name out of the equation and just watch the ball. He’s been around for 116 or so Test matches, he knows what to do,” Lee told foxsports.com.au.

“Is it his bunny? The stats would say probably yes. But he needs to make sure he’s going out there and playing him like he’s a normal bowler.”

Former middle-order star Mark Waugh is certain that Stokes will be aware of the hold Starc has on him at the moment after bowling him for six in the first innings before snaring an edge that flew to Steve Smith in his second dig.

But he said the Australians are well aware of how damaging Stokes, who scored a century in Perth in 2013 and made famous tons at Headingley in 2019 and Lord’s in 2023, can be and will be wary of what he can produce.

“Every batsman does have a bowler who has good numbers against them. He probably does know those numbers too, Ben Stokes,” Waugh said.

“On Friday I thought it was a poor shot – it was a pretty good delivery – but it was a shot I thought he should have been defending, not attacking. On Saturday he got a good ball and you can’t do much about that regardless of previous history.

“Let’s see how that unfolds during the series. Stokes has played great innings against Australia, so I wouldn’t write him off. But it is a match up we will see a lot more during the series.”

“He had answers for everything” | 12:11

Lee said it was imperative Stokes finds the confidence to take on Starc and help his side accumulate much-needed runs, saying the English captain seemed stilted in his thinking when facing the Aussie star.

“He got caught in the crease a bit by Mitchell Starc,” he said of the Perth Test.

“Starc will know he’s got him out on a number of occasions and he’ll use that to his advantage. It’s execution now. It’s confidence. From a bowler, it’s a great feeling knowing you’ve got a batter out a few times, feeling you’ve got the wood over them.

“It’s the energy, the presence you have at the crease, it’s the follow through. You look them in the eye and say game on.

“(But) I don’t think Ben Stokes is the kind to be overawed.”

Lee said while Stokes had performed with ball in hand in Perth, which included a five wicket haul in the first innings, it was with the bat that he needed to impose himself after falling cheaply amid the collapses.

“I’ve been super impressed with what I’ve seen from Ben Stokes,” Lee said.

“Obviously he hasn’t fired with the bat in this series so far. But it’s only the first game and he was brilliant with the ball.”

Stokes ignites with fiery 5-wicket haul | 04:36

WILL AUSTRALIA FEEL MORE COMFORTABLE ABOUT STARTING SUMMERS IN PERTH?

Before Mitch Starc skittled Stokes and had England running scared with seven first innings wickets, he sparked a partisan battle between Western Australia and Queensland when saying the Aussies preferred to start series at the Gabba.

The brilliance of his performance over the past couple of days may have tempered his passion to a regard, with Starc sublime in finishing with ten wickets, a deed that saw him overtake Curtly Ambrose to move to second behind only Wasim Akram in terms of Test wickets taken by left-armed pace bowlers. He may well overtake the Pakistan legend in Brisbane.

The only disappointment about the Perth Test is that it finished too quickly. A new record attendance for a Test match in Perth was set in just two days, with the 101,514 fans who attended eclipsing the 96,463 from last year’s clash against India.

The quick finish means that Cricket Australia will refund what was another sell-out crowd for Sunday, with English fans scrambling for other entertainment activities in Perth. At least they had Lilac Hill on Sunday.

But with Brisbane off the roster next year in a four Test series against New Zealand, Perth will again host the season opener and while it will be hard to match the attendance for the Ashes, it is a slot that seems to be working in the west.

Starc takes his 10th Wicket of the match | 00:59

Proud Western Australians Adam Gilchrist and Mike Hussey were delighted with how Perth Stadium and the city at large handled a massive influx of English tourists.

Gilchrist said the innings produced by Head will be seen around the world and is the type of moment that helps a stadium build tradition.

“I think Virat Kohli’s hundred in 2018 was something that was held highly given his courage and his skill. But that was an iconic moment of Ashes history, not just for Perth Stadium, but for Ashes history,” Gilchrist said.

Hussey noted that while Perth was isolated in terms of Australian capitals, it is an easier destination for visitors from Europe and Asia to get to when travelling down under and believes the West Test is an ideal starting point for the summer.

“I thought last year was amazing as well,” he said.

“I know for the eastern states, they feel like Perth’s a long way to come. But it’s actually easier to get here from England and from India. You can get a direct flight from London straight to Perth, and for Indians, it is easy to come through Singapore and you’re here in seven hours. So I think it’s an ideal place to start the summer.

“The fans have shown that they’re going to turn up, for those big series, anyway, and I’m proud to see so many people over the last two years, so many people turn up and watch good Test cricket in great conditions at a magnificent stadium. It is pretty cool.”

The new Victoria Park stadium being built for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics is expected to host the first Test of the ensuing summer, as the first major non-Olympic event at the venue.