They did the basics well and deserved the 4-1 series win.
If you look at the Australia team compared to what England thought they were going to face with Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon, and the only one they really had to face is Starc because of the others’ injuries.
Advertisement
But the guys that came in really stepped up and you have to give Starc credit for the way he stepped up and performed. He really took charge to finish the series as the leading wicket-taker with 31. It was incredible.
Scott Boland and Michael Neser supported him well and as an attack it was good, solid Test cricket. They bowled good areas and created pressure, and that’s all you need to do at Test level.
To be honest, I don’t know if England took them for granted a little bit and if they thought it wasn’t the same attack and thought it was going to be easier. However, Australia was tougher and gave nothing to England.
That said, the big defining moment of the series for me was when Travis Head was promoted to opener in the first Test after Usman Khawaja struggled with back spasms.
Advertisement
It just set a completely different tone for Australia’s batting – it got them going and positivity flowed through the rest of the order. Those things were huge.
Alex Carey also gave an absolute masterclass in approaching Boland and Neser – he was brilliant.
Then if you look at fielding and catching, they say catches win games and it’s very true. The number of catches England lost, even if England caught them, this series would have been completely different.
It’s those basic things, that mental toughness and just playing good, solid Test cricket day in and day out and not letting the other team sniff around, that’s what Australia did right.
Advertisement
“Winning in England is Australia’s Everest”
The next goal of this Australian team will be to win in England in 2027.
We’ve drawn the last two series in the UK 2-2 to retain the Ashes, so we’ve done a job, but we haven’t won there since 2001.
It is very important for Australia to go there and take the victory.
Australia definitely has the team to win.
There won’t be too many retirements between now and then. Australia will want Cummins to come back and bowl well, and they will want Hazlewood to come back. England have also seen what Boland is capable of.
The way Head does things is exceptional, so it will be interesting to see how he does.
Advertisement
I know last time it was David Warner and Stuart Broad controlling him a bit at the top of the order.
However, that could be a key difference. England had Broad, they had Jimmy Anderson, they had some top bowlers there.
For me, Australia should have won in 2023, but England, in their own backyard, have a different belief.
They know how to play in those conditions and have the advantage of playing at home.
A win would be huge for Australia. They have won everywhere except India and England.
There are a lot of players there (Steve Smith, Cummins, Lyon, Starc) who have never won in England.
It’ll be tough, but I’ll probably go out with my normal 5-0 prediction going into the series; I can’t help it.
Advertisement
I would like to think that Australia will win because of the quality of the players they have.
That is his next goal and you could say his Everest.
“England needs to rethink its plan”
You wouldn’t expect too many changes in Australia’s side and approach, but England need to rethink their plan for how they do things. They are halfway there.
To be honest, what I saw in England in 2023 is the same as what I have seen now.
They had a way of playing, and they were proud of it, and they thought that was the way to go and they were setting a new standard, but deep down I didn’t believe it was going to work.
Advertisement
You have to have what they wanted but with mental toughness, resilience and toughness combined with it.
I saw them go out and play and support each other, whether it’s playing without fear or without pressure, they are two completely different things.
I thought it was more about playing without pressure and if they made a bad shot there was no responsibility.
If one of our guys made a bad shot, they were nervous going back to the locker room because of what the rest of the team would think of them and how they would let the rest of the team down.
This series has been a great wake-up call. I think I finally realized that you need players that you can develop that mental toughness and resilience with and that you need players that enjoy that pressure and can absorb it and go out and play. It’s not about pretending there’s no pressure.
Advertisement
But I wouldn’t rush to get rid of Brendon McCullum.
The England and Wales cricket board want to look at this tour and see what is wrong, but there needs to be the other side of what they have learned and what they are now going to implement.
If they want to continue as they are, it’s not going to work and maybe it’s time for Baz to move on, but if he thinks he’s seen what the potential is and knows what he needs to add to make it a reality, then maybe he’s the guy to move on.
There were positive aspects. Jacob Bethell looks like a class player at number three, while Josh Tongue needs to take the new ball a little more often because he was exceptional.
Advertisement
Joe Root is a classy player and Brydon Carse is an absolute workhorse with the effort he put in.
There have been positive results, but there are many things they need to do differently.
This defeat will hurt them, but I hope they learn a lot from it and become more resilient and mentally strong.
If they can bury that thought, they will be a tough team in the future.
Glenn McGrath spoke to BBC Sport’s chief cricket reporter Stephan Shemilt.