The paradox of pace: What Australia and England have to do to win the first Ashes Test

3 months ago 9

Opinion

November 15, 2025 — 9.33am

Perth, home to the WACA and the modern Optus Stadium, boasts a reputation built on sheer pace and bounce. The strip here is pure energy, where the ball flies with a velocity unmatched anywhere else. Instinct suggests that to conquer such an intimidating surface, a batter must meet fire with fire.

But here lies the paradox of pace: the hardest, quickest pitches in the world demand the slowest hands and the calmest mind. The harder a batter tries to hit the ball, the greater their chance of failure. To master the extreme speed, one must yield to it, allowing the wicket’s natural venom to do the work, converting pace into timing.

Paceman Mitchell Starc has had plenty of experience bowling at the WACA in Perth.

The velocity generated in Perth is a potent psychological weapon. Cricketers fear facing a ball delivered above 140km/h, not because they worry about injury, but because they know they have too little time to react. This anxiety creates a profound vulnerability, turning a difficult challenge into a mental breakdown.

When facing express pace, a batter has less than half a second – closer to 0.4 seconds – to make a complex decision: whether they are playing or leaving, attacking or defending, and crucially, committing to the front or back foot. If a batter does not have a strong mental routine, the first thing that goes is their concentration.

The most critical component of batting is the first to go: watching the ball leave the bowler’s hand. This initial moment of release is the split-second where the batter gains all the vital information – line, length, and trajectory.

If anxiety causes a batter to pick up the ball only halfway down the pitch, they have already lost a crucial fraction of a second. They are playing catch-up, and their decision-making window has become impossible.

The very best players appear to have more time than everyone else because they do. Their mental discipline ensures they process the information earlier. If you are only picking up the ball halfway down the track, you are in a world of trouble.

The infamous 2013-14 Ashes Test at the WACA serves as a brutal illustration of this psychological failure. World-class batters like Alastair Cook and Kevin Pietersen became visibly fraught under the relentless pace barrage. They stopped picking up the ball cleanly out of the hand, leading to tentative footwork and, ultimately, fishing at deliveries outside the off-stump, confirming their dismissals. The loss was a mental surrender born from the anxiety of facing an unmanageable pace.

The mental routine is critical to any success because managing the inner game and what the batter is looking for is what allows them to be mentally and physically in the right place for each delivery. If you are mentally all over the place, your body will follow, and your vision will blur.

Former England batsman Kevin Pietersen ponders his dismissal in Perth in the summer of 2013-14.

Against express pace, two further rules stand out as the most counterintuitive, yet most critical, for a batter to follow:

1. Expect the full ball

On a pitch where the majority of deliveries will be short, the successful batter must mentally expect the full ball. This is not about guessing; it’s about tactical preparation. The full ball is the first point of release; therefore, the most immediate point of danger.

By preparing for the full ball, the batter’s body is organised in a neutral position. The subconscious mind then takes over: if the ball is still in the bowler’s hand beyond a certain point, the mind automatically registers that it can no longer be a full delivery and instantly plants the front foot to push back and cover the short ball.

If a batter anticipates the short ball first, they start organising themselves to play that delivery, but should the ball be a full delivery, they won’t have time to adjust, making scoring from that delivery most unlikely. The most successful batters learn to organise for full, and then push back.

2. Look to score, not just survive

Another key paradox is that a batter must always be looking to score runs. Against express pace, you must have a strong method that allows you to score runs from any ball. If you are only a back-foot player or predominantly a front-foot player, your scoring options will be limited.

Merely attempting to survive creates a static posture, making the batter slow to move and unable to transition their weight effectively. They become sitting ducks. By contrast, looking for a scoring opportunity forces the batter into a dynamic, ready position.

The paradox of pace extends to the bowlers, too. For those arriving in Perth, the excitement of seeing the ball fly through to the wicketkeeper is often overwhelming. The temptation is to bowl short, short, and then even shorter.

The counterintuitive move is to pitch the ball up. Excessively short bowling is a fundamental error for two major reasons: firstly, it removes two of the most potent modes of dismissal in Test cricket – bowled and leg before wicket – which require a fuller length. Secondly, it is a risk, as the batter can comfortably leave the ball or use its pace for easy boundaries, thus leaking runs. Discipline with a slightly fuller length, allowing the pitch to generate the venom, is the ultimate secret to success here.

The New Zealand pace attack during the 2019-20 Test at Optus Stadium fell into this trap. Despite having a highly skilled pace battery, they consistently bowled too short in Australia’s first innings, trying to exploit the bounce. This was a strategic mistake that played directly into the hands of the batters, including Marnus Labuschagne, who were able to score freely, leading to a massive Australian total of 416 that effectively ended the contest early.

Furthermore, the characteristics of the Perth pitch exponentially increase the number of catching chances behind the wicket. These edges come quickly, demanding razor-sharp reflexes and excellent positioning. The slip cordon in Perth is not a luxury; it is an operational necessity. The good news for the fielders is that the bounce means the catches are usually coming from knee height and above, offering a slightly better sight of the ball - but demanding total readiness.

I expect Australia to start favourite because of their experience in the conditions. With Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, and Scott Boland each having sent down plenty of balls in Perth, I expect them to adapt to the conditions more quickly than England. In fact, Perth and Brisbane are as unique as any two pitches in world cricket. The Australians’ experience in these conditions gives them a considerable advantage. If they use that experience well, the odds favour the hosts.

The ultimate lesson of the fastest wicket in the world is that raw power is often defeated by subtle intelligence. The victory goes to those who embrace the brilliant, counterintuitive paradox of pace.