Head’s hundred and Cummins’ possible return could shake up Australia’s lineup for the 2nd Ashes test

PERTH, Australia (AP) – Changing a winning combination in the second Ashes cricket test could be on the cards for Australia after Travis Head’s astonishing audition as an opener and the possible return of regular skipper Pat Cummins.

Changing the England approach after succumbing to an eight-wicket loss inside two days – a speed unseen in a century – is unlikely according to head coach Brendon McCullum. He is steadfastly sticking with his “blueprint” despite mounting cricitism of the attack-at-all costs Bazball method from critics including former test skippers.

Wrapping up the first test in Perth so quickly gave the players from both teams an extra three days to recover and prepare for the day-night test at the Gabba starting Dec. 4.

Head volunteered to move up the batting order from No. 5 to open when Usman Khawaja was injured ahead of Australia’s second innings, when the first test was delicately poised after a clattering of 30 wickets in five sessions.

Far from being overawed, he clubbed a century off 69 deliveries – the third-fastest ever by an Australian in test cricket – and ended up with 123, more than double the next-highest individual score in Perth.

How the 38-year-old Khawaja recovers from a back problem will determine the Australian top order in Brisbane, his home ground, as much as his batting form and age. The bowling attack may also be overhauled with Cummins saying he’s “half a chance” to be fit in time after missing the Perth test.

Cummins hasn’t played a test since Australia’s 3-0 sweep over West Indies in the Caribbean in July because of a lower back issue.

“It’s feeling good,” Cummins said during a brief commentary stint during the first test. “It’s on track and pulling up pretty well. I’m pretty hopeful and it’s probably better than it was a few weeks ago.”

Cummins said he was disappointed to miss the opening match but that was better than potentially missing the entire series.

“There were probably times where I thought I wasn’t going to play a game,” Cummins said. “It’s been tough. The whole cricketing world is watching, and you just wish you were out there.”

Cummins and Josh Hazlewood both missed the Perth test, leaving Mitchell Starc as the only member of the regular pace triumvirate. In a player-of-the-match performance, shading even Head’s incredible hundred, Starc took a career-best 7-58 in the first innings and finished with a 10-wicket haul for the match and a stunning catch.

Brendan Doggett took five wickets on debut and likely would be the bowler to make way if needed.

England took five seamers into the Perth test, relying on express pace to rattle the Australians. It worked in the first innings, but backfired in the second when Head took on the short-pitch bowling and won.

With the Gabba also a venue that offers extra pace and bounce, and it being a day-night format, the English may again go for a similar attack but aim to bowl at a different length.

The batting was problematic for the English, with five-wicket collapses in each innings costing them precious momentum. England was bowled out for 172 and 164 despite being in commanding positions at times and set Australia a target of 205 for victory. The Australians reached that quickly.

“To be honest I thought 200 was a good score, I thought it was a very defendable score,” McCullum told the BBC. “We’ve got some work to do, no doubt. But one thing we won’t be changing is our blueprint, we’ll stay true to that.”

Skipper Ben Stokes said his team need to move past the crushing defeat quickly as the second test has become a must-win for the tourists.

“I’m still very confident of our abilities and achieving the goal,” Stokes said. “(It’s going) to be so crucial about not taking any baggage from this result into Brisbane, because we need to win that one.”

England will get a chance to make some adjustments in a tour match against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra before traveling to Brisbane, where Stokes will be desperate to end the team’s run of 16 winless tests Down Under.