England beaten by the ghost of Travis Head's past

His arrival warped the bowlers' thinking, and Head then feasted on England's souls.

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On England’s first ball to Travis Head in the first Ashes Test, there is something spooky going on with the field – a foreshadowing moment.

When people play poker, they look for behavioural or physical clues. Maybe a gesture or pattern — that unintentionally reveals secrets about a player’s hand strength or thoughts. It’s called a tell.

Sometimes we see this with cricket fields. Australia are 30/3 after 15.5 overs in the first innings, and England have only two slips for Head.

This is what an attacking player does to teams. England were on top. They could gamble, add an extra slip, or put in a short leg. Instead, they put in the kind of field you usually get when you’re striking them nicely on 40-odd.

There is a story that Ann Boleyn haunts the Tower of London. Sightings often claim she carries her severed head tucked under her arm while floating through hallways.

It was England that were Headless in this Test, but ghosts played a part as well.

In the first innings, England seemed to have a fairly simple plan for Head, bowl around the wicket, back of a length and cramp him up.

Atkinson had him in trouble a couple of times by moving the ball away, as Head was almost out to leading edges. There was also the oddball into his thigh pad, or a ropey-looking one-handed defence. It was not a fluent, destructive Head.