The Observer
25.08.19 5Labuschagne
the understudy
is still on the up
Of all of the prayers and invocations
and chants and rituals aimed at
the Ashes, through the red-sock
superstitions and the shushing
of jinxes and the supplications to
latent power within tattered posters
of Derek Pringle, someone must
have connected to a good sprite
who sprinkled some magic over the
Australian No 4 batting position.
First it was Steve Smith, doing
what no player with any respect for
logical sequences should have done.
When players miss a fortnight of
cricket we speculate about them
being rusty; he didn’t play Tests
for near on a year and a half before
sauntering back during a batting
collapse to make the best hundred
of his career.
A second-innings 142 followed
that 144, with another century on
the way at Lord’s before Jofra Archer
fi nally broke his concentration and
very nearly his arm. A subsequent
blow to the head would cost him
three innings.
This paper marvelled at how
the less credentialled understudy,
Marnus Labuschagne, was able to
step in as the concussion substitute
at Lord’s and calmly compile 59
to ensure the match was a draw.
Just as Smith would likely have
done, Labuschagne negotiated thebowling, top-scored, and held a
shaky innings together long enough
to save the day.
Labuschagne was an unlikely
swap. When he played a fi rst couple
of tentative Tests in late 2018, it
came off the back of a few years of
Sheffi eld Shield cricket averaging
in the low 30s, and a dearth of
domestic batting that meant any
player stringing together a couple of
scores was some chance for higher
honours.
But a taste of the game at the
highest level followed a prolifi c
county stint with Glamorgan, and
between the two Labuschagne
equipped himself for the fi ght.
Stepping into Smith’s shoes at the
last minute was one thing, where
not having time to think about
it might have been for the best.
Stepping in for a full Test once
the senior batsman was ruled out
at Headingley entirely – that was
something else.
The pressure had time to gather
and push down, the expectation
had time to build, the friends and
well-wishers had time to fi ll various
inboxes, and any worries would
have time to coalesce.If that wasn’t enough, walking
out to bat on the fi rst day at 25-2
should have been, with the team
having been sent in before Stuart
Broad and Archer began seaming
and swinging the ball in bewildering
fashion. Just as at Lord’s, a false
move from Labuschagne was likely
to spell serious trouble for Australia
down the order. Just as at Lord’s, he
handled it.
With David Warner as his partner,
his method was to try nothing
excessive and wait out the deluge.
When Archer bowled short he had
learned enough to sway back out of
the way.
When the ball swung he held his
line. When it was straight enough he
picked off runs through the leg side.
And when wickets fell at the other
end he remained in place, batting
through to be second-last out for a
defi ning 74. Warner made 61. The
next best was 11.
The fairy dust, though, really
showed its sparkle in the second
innings. You need luck and skill to
succeed in cricket, but Labuschagne
seems to prefer his portions
separately. Starting with a lead of
112, there was far less pressure on
Australia’s batsmen. There was
plenty on England in the fi eld.
Across the second afternoon
and third morning, no fewer
than three catches went down off
Labuschagne, once from Joe Root at
slip and twice from Jonny Bairstow
diving across slip. When Bairstow
did catch a nick it was found that the
bowler Ben Stokes had overstepped.
Labuschagne effectively had fi ve
innings on his way to 80. But he also
had three fi fties in a row.
The lesson, perhaps, is that you
can’t expect the young substitute to
turn straw into gold. In an innings
where the ball moved plenty, he
pushed down the line often enough
to edge it time and again. But a
charmed run on one day followed
fi ne work and unlucky dismissals
on others, and he has surely done
enough to magically transform a
brief appearance into a longer run in
the team.Smith’s replacement
needs some luck but
is looking the part,
writes Geoff Lemon
Joe Denly
reacts after being
caught behind off
Josh Hazlewood
as Australia
took a crucial
wicket during an
engrossing third
day at Headingley
STU FORSTER/GETTY IMAGESThe fairy dust
really showed
its sparkle in his
second innings,
when there was
less pressure
Over by over
How day three
unfolded online
How the day’s play unfolded
in real time on the OBO,
cricket’s original live blog,
at theguardian.com/sport64th over
Australia 194-6 Th at is a BAD
DROPPED CATCH, Bairstow diving
in front of fi rst slip with one glove,
putting Labuschagne down. It was
going straight to Root. Dear me.
Th at’s ugly cricket. Broad is gutted.13th over
England 31-2 Ohhh, Cummins is
the proverbial coat of varnish away
from Australia’s third, carving back
through Denly - so close to both
his inside edge and bails. Earlier, he
picked up four off the edge, squared
up a treat. Denly is into double
fi gures again! Th e only England
player to achieve that in this match.22nd over
England 53-2 Root again sweeps
a single round the corner off Lyon,
who generously gives Root a
comprehensive analysis of the risks
of such a shot on a pitch off ering
bounce. He is such a cocksure
bowler; brilliant to play with,
irritating as hell to play against.28th over
England 65-2 Root is nowhere near
his carefree best of a few years
ago, and I can’t remember a single
attacking stroke in this innings, but
he is playing with plenty of defi ance.
A pulled single off Hazlewood brings
up a hard-fought fi fty partnership
with Denly, who is then beaten
playing another loose drive.59th over
England 140-2 An extremely
eventful maiden concludes with
a run-out referral against Denly.
He went down the track and drove
the ball back at Lyon, who picked it
and threw down the stumps, Roger
Harper-style. Denly was safely
home. Th is is glorious stuff.WICKET! England 141-3 A wicket
was in the post - and the brilliant
Josh Hazlewood has taken it! It was a
beautifully directed short ball. Denly
shaped to hook, realised he was in
trouble and tried to get out of the
way – but too late and he gloved the
ball high in the air to Tim Paine.72nd over
England 155-3 Th e last over of
the day. Root takes a single, which
allows Lyon one last crack at Stokes.
“Come on, Gaz, take him with us,
Gaz!” drawls one of the players
around the bat, apparently unaware
that the batsmen leave the fi eld at
the close of play regardless.
Join Geoff Lemon and Rob Smyth today
from 10am for over-by-over coverage
at theguardian.comand worn. Right now, he is the only
one of the four whose Test average
has fallen below the 50 threshold. It
has dropped down to 42 when he has
been captaining. And watching his
strange fi eld placings in this series,
it is beginning to feel like his leader-
ship is not worth what it seems to be
costing him in runs.
Root surely did not get much
sleep on Friday night. He has spo-
ken before about how he often fi nds
himself lying awake at night during
games, turning over the day’s play
in his mind. Right now, he looks like
he needs rest almost as much as he
needs runs. He gave all of himself
in that fi rst innings of the series at
Edgbaston, when he batted over three
hours for 57 runs. Since then he has
made 28, 14, 0 and 0, the fi rst time in
his life he has made ducks in back-
to-back matches. He is in the thick of
the worst year of his career. He was
averaging 27 from 13 innings when
he came in here.
England were reeling at the time
at 15 for two, Jason Roy having got
out four balls after Rory Burns. So he
was on a pair, and Josh Hazlewood
thought he had him with his second
ball, which was – you’ll never guess
- on a length outside off-stump.
Root leaned in to it and it whizzed
just by the edge of his bat, which had
clipped his pad as he played the shot.
Hazlewood mistook one noise for
the other, and launched into a long,
loud appeal, which umpire Gaffney
refused. Two balls later, Root played
a jittery little squirt through the slips
that skittered away to third man for
three runs.
Root bounded down the pitch for
those runs, palpably relieved to be off
and running. He could then set him-
self for the grim and serious business
of the afternoon. He scored two fours
in the next 23 overs, both of them off
the outside edge, one wide through
gully off Hazlewood, the other past
slip off James Pattinson, who mis-
takenly thought he had him lbw
later in the innings, too. Otherwise,
he blocked a lot, left plenty, and
picked up the odd ones and twos
where he could. There was one loose
drive, but otherwise it was brilliantly
bloody-minded stuff, an innings of
Boycottian obstinacy.
Finally Root unfurled a fi ne cover
drive off Nathan Lyon to bring up his
fi fty, a handsome stroke redolent of
another of his Yorkshire forebears,
Michael Vaughan. Next ball, he fl icked
fi ne behind to leg. After those back-
to-back boundaries, he settled again,
until on 64 he played a shot all of his
very own, a reverse sweep for four off
Lyon, fi nely calculated to take best
advantage of the width the bowler
had offered him. He walked off at the
end, exhausted, but you guess he still
won’t get the sleep he needs. There is
still too much left to do.
Losing an Ashes
series in Australia
is one thing –
being beaten at
home is another