Jason Gillespie, a seasoned veteran of Ashes cricket comebacks, has firsthand experience from two pivotal series where the tide turned dramatically. His insights come from playing in both the 1997 and 2005 contests, where the Ashes saw intense rivalries reignited.

Reflecting on those experiences and the recent two-day Test at Optus Stadium, Gillespie considers whether Ben Stokes and his squad can mount a comeback after years of preparation for this crucial series. “Absolutely, they’re dangerous,” Gillespie asserts. “Their first-innings bowling performance was outstanding, as they managed to dismiss Australia for just 132. That was some of the finest bowling I’ve seen from an England side in Australia.”

During his extensive coaching career, Gillespie has worked with Travis Head, who played a pivotal role in Australia’s victory in the first Test by scoring the second-fastest century in Ashes history, reaching the milestone in just 69 balls. Gillespie has mentored Head at both Yorkshire and South Australia.

Known as ‘Dizzy,’ Gillespie, a key figure in four Ashes series victories, believes England’s strategy of bombarding Head with short-pitched deliveries was a critical error. Head seized the opportunity, demonstrating his prowess with the bat.

“I spoke with Travis after the match, and he was actually hoping they would use the bouncer strategy,” Gillespie reveals. “He mentioned that the most difficult balls to face were those delivered on the fourth or fifth stump line, at a good length, tempting the drive on the off-side—just like the deliveries that got the England players out,” adds Gillespie, who led a 2-1 triumph over England’s aggressive ‘Bazball’ approach as Pakistan’s head coach just over a year ago, in an interview with Daily Mail Sport.

Jason Gillespie reckons England’s tactic of bombing Travis Head with balls banged in halfway down the pitch was a big mistake

Head made the second-fastest Ashes century of all time, from just 69 balls, as Australia made light work of their run chase in the first Test last week

Head was surprised that England played into his hands so much by bowling so many bouncers

‘Speaking to Travis after the game, he was hoping they would go to that bouncer plan, because he said the most challenging deliveries to face were that fourth, fifth-stump line, on a good length, inviting the push on the off-side – like how the England guys got out,’ Gillespie, who oversaw a 2-1 victory over the Bazballers as Pakistan head coach 13 months ago, tells Daily Mail Sport.

‘He reckoned England just didn’t bowl enough balls there, and they were too set in stone about this short-ball plan, which played into Australia’s hands.

‘Personally, I don’t mind the odd short ball to Trav, but if a batsman’s expecting it, he can plan for it. If it’s a well-directed bouncer every few overs, then that element of surprise is what could undo anyone. If you know it’s coming, different story.

‘England are too quick to go to short-ball plans, in my opinion. That’s what I’ve seen over the last few years. They think that will solve all the issues, and they don’t trust themselves to be disciplined with their lines and lengths, playing the patience game.’

But not all hope is lost, he says. And this is what Gillespie would advise the tourists. 

‘Australia beware, though, because England are a good team,’ he says. ‘One that just needs to be a bit smarter, and adjust and adapt their games, not be so pig-headed, saying: “This is how we play.”

‘If they lose that stubbornness, there’s no reason they can’t get back into things: because of that first-innings bowling, and some of their batting, like that of Harry Brook and Jamie Smith, which was very good but not backed up by others.

’It’s not a matter of just going harder or doubling down. It’s learning from the loss. I’ve heard a lot of talk about England wanting to stay true to their blueprint. I have no problem with that, but there is accountability and consequences if you keep making the same mistakes over and over again. There should be an element of flexibility within that framework.

’It’s not a matter of just going harder or doubling down,’ says Gillespie of England. ‘It’s learning from the loss’

Jofra Archer appeals after trapping Jake Weatherald lbw in the first innings in Perth – England’s bowlers were brilliant on day one but let down by some of the batsmen

‘A very simple example is shelving the plan to drive on the up to good deliveries over here, as they did last weekend. Wait for the really full one that you can punch, or the one that’s just a bit shorter and wider that you can cut.

‘When there is a hot zone of good bowling, just absorb that, let the ball go for a while, and the bowlers will eventually get impatient – that’s when you can jump on them and be aggressive.’

Gillespie knows exactly how an Ashes series can flip around after a first-Test hammering, though.

There was 2005, of course, when England won 2-1 having been given a shellacking at Lord’s first up, and then there was 1997, Gillespie’s Ashes debut, when Australia had to fight back after being punched in the mouth at Edgbaston in the opener.

An attack of Darren Gough, Devon Malcolm and Andrew Caddick skittled the Aussies by early afternoon on the opening day of the series, and then Nasser Hussain’s 207 and a century from Graham Thorpe hammered home the advantage.

‘I got injured as well, so we were a bowler down and that didn’t help,’ Gillespie recalls. ‘But we knew we were a good team and so despite all the headlines of “The Ashes Are Coming Home” that week, we knew that if we stuck true to how we played but sharpened up a few things in our game, panic would set in from England’s perspective.

‘And it did. Their selectors made all these changes and it seemed like they had a different side every Test match.’

In contrast to the 18 cricketers England used in six outings that summer, which ended in a 3-2 series win for Australia, the 2005 vintage were much more settled and able to take positives despite losing first up at Lord’s.

Gillespie made his Ashes debut in 1997 and won the first four series he played, before defeat in 2005

Gillespie (right) celebrates with Michael Slater (centre) and Shane Warne (left) after winning the fourth Test in 1997 by an innings and 61 runs at Headingley 

But he was also on the receiving end of Australia’s first Ashes series defeat for more than 18 years, the 2005 epic which England won after losing the opening Test

‘They were a good side, well led by Michael Vaughan, and one of the things that struck me was that everyone was clear with their role.

‘There were also little things, I noticed, that I’d never seen from England before. Their players all went out together.

‘When the umpires went out, they’d have a huddle, so that they were all in place, ready to start before our openers had even got halfway across the ground. They had the skills, the unity and the belief.’

You can hear Jason Gillespie on ABC Radio and The Fast Bowling Cartel podcast throughout the 2025-26 Ashes