England's aggression against Scott Boland surprised us: Australia coach Andrew McDonald

Australia men's coach Andrew McDonald admitted on Thursday that although he expected England to be ultra-aggressive in the first Test of the Ashes, the way they took on pacer Scott Boland "surprised" his team.

Boland, known for his accuracy, had 33 wickets at an average of 14.57 and an economy rate of 2.32 from eight Tests before the series. However, the hosts put him off his length from the get-go at Edgbaston, including through Joe Root's lap shots. The right-arm seamer went at 5.65 runs/over, picking up only two wickets in the match.

"We'd seen the way they go about it, they are ultra-aggressive," McDonald told reporters, as quoted by cricket.com.au. "But I think Scott Boland, that match-up probably surprised us how aggressive they were against Scott. So that's something we can look at and find better ways through.

"We feel as though the way we went about it was planned and we executed what we wanted. There was some different things thrown at us at different times that clearly surprised us, which is no doubt like any other game of cricket. And then you've got to factor in the surface. Day one was potentially the best day to bat, the sun was out and they put some pressure on us. We can no doubt learn from that."

Though Boland was the most expensive, all Australian bowlers conceded more than four runs per over in the first innings. However, they picked up wickets regularly and England's early declaration at 393-8 kept them in the Test. The visitors eventually won by two wickets in the final half-hour of the last day.

Andrew McDonald admits Mitchell Starc could have played a role at Edgbaston

McDonald also accepted that Mitchell Starc, who was dropped from the team for Josh Hazlewood, could have "potentially" played a role at Edgbaston. However, he added that Australia chose Hazlewood (3/109 over two innings) and Boland's "line and length" over Starc's swing because of the conditions at hand.

"It's conditions-based, and I've said that from the get-go," McDonald said. "We feel as though, looking back on it, potentially Mitch could have played a role, there's no doubt about that. But line and length potentially over left-arm swing, and we didn’t feel as though we may have got swinging conditions (at Edgbaston)."

"It's really down to a gut feel at selection, so it can be critiqued any way you want. We felt like when we went into the game, with all the information that we had, we made the best decision. We took Starcy on that journey, he understands that and he understands the fact there is four more Test matches and he's got a pivotal part to play within that. There's going to be huge demand on all our fast bowlers to get through the five (Ashes) Test matches, plus the World Test Championship. Josh was fit and available, we felt like he was the best on this surface and that might be Mitch next game, who knows?"

The second Test of Ashes 2023 will be played at Lord's starting on June 28.