Stick To Cricket: England's Ashes Collapse, Starc's Masterclass & Adam Gilchrist Joins

• England surprised with an eight-wicket defeat to Australia in Perth in the first test match.

• The Stick To Cricket panel discuss the squad's preparation, gameplay and leadership.

• The question is, can they turn it around in time for the pink-ball game?

• Get your guide to winter Ashes predictions with Betfair Predicts

Betfair and The Overlap proudly present Stick to Cricket, the weekly show featuring England cricket legends Michael Vaughan, Sir Alastair Cook, David 'Bumble' Lloyd and Phil 'Tuffers' Tufnell, joined by special guests to talk cricket's biggest stories. This week, ex-Australian Ashes winning wicket-keeper Adam Gilchrist joins the Stick To Cricket team to reflect on the home sides thrashing of England in the first test in Perth.

Michael Vaughan: This is judgement time for Bazball

I think the pile in on England is because the Bazball way has been with us for a while and in the summer against India, when Bumrah played, England played very sensibly. They played, left the ball and didn't chase him. They had a game plan against him.

I've not seen that here and that's why I'm disappointed.

This now is like judgement time. Have they learnt from 2023? And from what I saw this week, the honest answer is no, they haven't which disappoints me because this England side, from the pitches we see here in Australia, you don't need a world-class spinner, you need pace and skill. 

They've got more tools with the ball than any England team we've seen, and they've got a batting unit with so much talent and when you see it wasted, you just go oh, lads..

Alastair Cook: England have backed Zak Crawley now and won't change that until after Sydney.

England are happy with getting three innings out of him, aren't they? He gets an 80 or 100, it tends to be an unbelievable innings. He's the best batter to ever average 80 in terms of the standard he plays. 

If he plays three, hopefully four innings in this series and changes the game, that's why he's been picked and why he's employed. 

Sometimes I look at him and the innings he plays are unbelievable. But they've backed him now and won't change that until after Sydney. 

He plays all the way through for me.

Vaughan: He's probably the safest player in the team. He's been chosen to play the way England want him to and they've gone consistent over three years. This is why they've been so consistent and at the first time of asking, if you played Zak Crawley bingo, you'd have probably had the full house after the first over. Big, big drives and then gets out playing the big drives. That's the way Australia will bowl to him - they're going to go full and try to get him driving. 

Adam Gilchrist: This England team can compete with Australia in these conditions if they just harness and channel it.

This England team can compete fair and square with Australia in these conditions.

Judgement time will come after this series. This England team is capable of threatening Australia if they allow their full potential to come through. Inbetween games, don't take anything for granted and work hard. 

It was an okay performance by Australia including brilliance from Travis Head but there are areas that they'll be looking at and be concerned if England can choose to roll out that same bowling unit and execute in the way they did, that was world-class by England.

Michael Vaughan: My worry for England is that Australia will get better.

England had the best team they could've for these conditions in Perth whereas it wasn't Australia's best team.

My worry for England is that Australia will say Travis Head is the opening batter, and Josh Inglis comes at five, Green at six, Alex Carey at seven... they may not play the spinner with the pink ball so they may end up with Webster at eight, Cummins at nine if he comes back, Starc at ten and Boland 11.. you're looking at Australia thinking 'how the f*ck do you beat that?'

No other England team would prepare for a major sporting event like this side has done.

It's like if Tiger Woods goes to The Masters and says he's prepared by going on the crazy golf and got a couple of shots through the windmill and I'm ready. It is similar.

I just don't think England have given themselves the best chance. The next test is a pink ball game where Australia have only ever lost one pink ball test match and there'll be four or five players that, if they don't play that game, they'll arrive at The Gabba to play a pink ball game for the first time in their career. That can't be right. 

Vaughan: I have never seen Ben Stokes so broken and out of answers in a game of cricket.

Cook: After half an hour, I don't think I've ever seen England side look like they did under Ben Stokes. They looked broken so early on. They knew it was done. They were shocked.

Adam Gilchrist: I loved watching Mitchell Starc deliver. It wasn't vintage but it was a proper senior player taking on responsibility to try and be disciplined in one area and England came to him. His determination and everything about him was like this is his time to step up.  

Phil Tufnell: You talk about Mitchell Starc, and he had match-best figures, but he wasn't a vintage Mitchell Starc, was he? He was just clever, skilful and he put it in good areas. He wasn't hooping it around, was he?

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