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After a sequence of horrendous batting displays, Australia finally showed some resilience against the Sri Lankan spinners yesterday in the third Test in Colombo.
Avoiding the technical mistakes which had undone the Australian batsmen time and again this series, Steve Smith and Shaun Marsh shepherded their side to 1-141 at stumps, trailing the hosts by 214 runs.
Smith in the last week had talked about the importance of playing the line of the ball against Sri Lanka’s spinners, rather than trying to predict how much each delivery would turn.
Australia’s batsmen, including Smith, continually had been beaten on the inside edge by deliveries which skidded on and bowled them or trapped them LBW.
Yesterday Smith and Marsh repeatedly were defeated on the outside as they played the line of the ball. This may have dented their egos a shade, but most importantly these deliveries ended in the keeper’s gloves, with no harm done.
In a further attempt to minimise the risk of LBWs, both batsmen made a point of playing front foot defensive shots to the spinners with their bat slightly ahead of their front pad.
Australian cricketers are taught from a young age to defend with their bat and pad tucked together snugly, with the face of the bat slightly behind the pad.
By contrast many Asian cricketers aim to have the blade marginally ahead of the pad when defending against slow bowlers. The advent of DRS has made this particular approach even more prudent.
While these two technical matters require only minor adjustments, Australia’s batsmen failed to make them in the first two Tests. Marsh’s knock of 64 not out justified the selectors’ decision to recall him.
But, despite his success at the top of the order yesterday, I still would argue there was little sense in dropping Joe Burns, who has averaged 42 from 11 Tests, including three tons. It was Marsh’s younger brother Mitch who should have made way instead.
With a Test batting average of 23 after 18 Tests, the younger Marsh has survived due to his bowling prowess. Yet he barely has been used with the ball in this series, sending down only six overs per innings on average.
His older brother, at 33 years old, has been bounced in and out of the side many times in his 18-Test career, and has tended to start each stint in fine fashion. His problem has been maintaining that form.
If he holds his place in the team, Marsh immediately will face a test every bit as robust the one he encountered at Colombo. Australia’s next series is at home in November against the dynamic South African pace attack of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and superstar-in-the-making Kagiso Rabada.
Marsh has the fine attribute of playing with soft hands against spin, as he showed yesterday. But against pace he has been caught behind the wicket over and over in Tests while sparring at deliveries outside off stump with hard hands. The West Australian has fared far better against spin than pace during his time in the baggy green.
Shaun Marsh has a fantastic average of 59 against spin in Tests, compared to just 29 against the quicks. But with scores of 182 and 64 not out in his past two innings he has made a compelling case to play against the Proteas.
Marsh can give the selectors no option but to stick with him by going on to convert his half century into a big hundred today. After having their confidence torn to shreds at Kandy and Galle, Australia desperately need a fillip ahead of a challenging home Test summer against South Africa and Pakistan.
With bits-and-pieces player Moises Henriques at five and Mitch Marsh at six, Smith and the elder Marsh simply must bat through until lunch today to give Australia a hope of salvaging something from this series.