- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Doom has hung so low over Australian cricket in recent times that the rare advancements have been obscured by the common setbacks.
Not so in this first Test against Sri Lanka, as the home team’s good performance has allowed fans to recognise and enjoy the efforts of a clutch of newcomers in Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Jhye Richardson and Kurtis Patterson.
Australia are in a commanding position in this Test largely due to the plucky and skilful efforts of rookies.
The home side’s veterans – Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Usman Khawaja and Tim Paine – have had minimal impact on this match. Instead it has been 22-year-old Richardson, 24-year-old Labuschagne, and 25-year-olds Travis Head and Pat Cummins who have been the bedrock of Australia’s fine display.
Not to mention the valuable contributions of inexperienced batsman Marcus Harris (44) and debutant Patterson, who grinded his way to 30 from 82 balls under lights last night.
So calm and assured did Patterson look in his first knock in Test cricket that it came as a surprise when he was caught LBW by Suranga Lakmal. The Sri Lankan quick was excellent all innings, getting the pink ball to swing sharply and late. Yet, Patterson looked at ease against Lakmal and his bowling colleagues to that point.
The lanky left-hander was presented with a difficult task, coming to the crease in the evening session with light draining from the sky and Sri Lanka immediately taking the second new ball.
Patterson batted just as he has for years at domestic level. He was composed and patient in temperament, and compact and organised in technique. Unlike many Australian batsmen of recent years, Patterson does not mind starting an innings slowly. He is content to shelve his ego and play within himself until he feels set.
You can only get somewhat excited by a score of 30, but that ceiling of optimism was definitely reached yesterday as Patterson batted like a man who had played many more Tests than one.
However, it was the two batsmen who preceded Patterson in the order who set up the match for Australia.
Head and Labuschagne wear criticism more frequently than cricket whites. Not all of this negativity is unjustified. Labuschagne undoubtedly has leapfrogged more qualified candidates to earn Test caps, while Head’s ungainly batting style does little to inspire confidence.
Yesterday, however, both men made themselves impervious to meaningful criticism, even if for one day. Doubtless there will be fans lining up to whinge endlessly about how neither man went on to make a ton – such tiresome supporters have become numerous as Australia have sunk into the cricketing abyss.
The reality is that, in making scores of 84 and 81 respectively, Head and Labuschagne won this Test for Australia. Head has played numerous highly-valuable innings across his brief Test career but never has he looked as good as he did yesterday.
Marnus Labuschagne was solid with the bat. (Photo by Francois Nel/Getty Images)
When the quicks went straight he tucked them through leg and when they overcorrected their line he sliced them to the off-side boundary.
Against spin he was nimble and confident, advancing down the wicket nicely and, at other times, using the full depth of the crease.
Meanwhile, Labuschagne showed – like Patterson – he does not mind allowing the bowlers to dictate terms early in his innings, more intent on winning the war than the battle.
Yes, he could have rotated the strike more as he made a dawdling start to his innings. But, once he got his eye in, the Queenslander looked supreme. His balance was great, his defence tight, his decision-making impressive, and his range of strokes comprehensive.
When Head and Labuschagne came together at 4-82, with Australia still trailing by 62, the pressure was intense.
By the time they put on 166 for the fifth wicket, Sri Lanka looked ragged.
The Test is not yet over, as Sri Lanka have a host of gifted batsmen, but Australia’s rookies have put them in the box seat.