- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Opinion
Marnus Labuschagne’s century on day one of the second Test was in many ways better than either of his two last week in Perth against the West Indies.
And with Travis Head now in the form of his life, the middle order looks unstoppable heading into the three-match series against South Africa.
After reaching 3-330 at stumps at the end of the opening day-night, the Aussies are set up to bat deep into day two and realistically, they shouldn’t be challenged the rest of this Test by a pretty badly depleted Windies line-up.
It was a pretty below-par Test attack but you can only play who’s in front of you and Labuschagne’s 120 and Heady’s 114 have set them up to go even bigger on day two.
CLICK HERE for a seven-day free trial to watch cricket on KAYO
I thought David Warner was going to get a hundred in the first session after the hot start he got off to but unfortunately he was out chasing a wide one again.
Marnus Labuschagne of Australia celebrates making his century. (Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
Usman Khawaja looked in total command for his 62 and was a trifle unlucky to be given out LBW on an umpire’s call from the DRS, it looked like it was missing leg stump to me.
Steve Smith’s rare duck, and even rarer caught and bowled, was actually a really good piece of bowling from Jason Holder. He holds a scrambled seam from time to time and it slowed down and got the extra bounce to hit higher on the bat that Smith thought it would.
At 3-131, the Aussies had a bit of work to do to get out of trouble but Marnus and Travis were magnificent, just a run shy of a double-century stand at stumps.
We weren’t in as much trouble in Perth so that’s why I think Labuschagne’s ton here was slightly better than either of those two.
It was disappointing that the Windies, after saying they had thought they’d found a chink in his armour, didn’t deliver on a short-ball barrage to Marnus. Joseph, of this attack, is the one with the pace to give it a try but when he did he didn’t put them on the right spot and it was no trouble for the world’s No.1 batter at all.
Tactically the Windies were awful, giving Roston Chase a bowl in the 10th over. Anderson Phillip showed enough to suggest he should have at least been given first-change duties.
The beauty of Marnus is he must pick up the line and the length so quickly because he’s always in position which means he’s always got options about where he wants to hit the ball.
On the few times they dug it in short, he was in perfect position to punch it in front of point or guide it down to the third boundary.
I saw the vision on social media of him batting late into the night in the nets making sure he was 100% prepared. The amount of hours he puts in, he deserves all the credit in the world. Batters are a weird bunch – some of them when they’re in form don’t want to mess with it by doing any extra time in the nets but he’s clearly a high-volume guy.
Heady can be jittery at times early in his innings but he was confident from the word go, playing with so much poise. He looked very assured.
Before the Ashes last year he had a phase where instead of standing up tall and cutting the ball or punching it off the back foot, he’d collapse that back leg and then he was undercutting it and getting caught in the cordon a fair bit. When he middled it, he’d look unbelievable but it was a shot that got him out cheaply too many times.
Over the past 12 months he’s decided to stand up more vertically before he hits the ball, a bit like Marnus, and then he can punch the ball through the off side like he did on the opening night.
(Photo by Chris Hyde/Getty Images)
The ball was flying off his bat through the covers and when he wanted to, he’d send it down behind point and the fielders were no chance of cutting it off.
He can cement this No.5 spot for years to come now. He’ll head, pardon the pun, into the South Africa series full of confidence and then hopefully he can do better than he has in the past on the tours to India and England.
Hopefully Cameron Green and Alex Carey can finally get a bat this series on Friday and get some decent runs too. They need some time at the crease before they take on the Proteas.
It looks like Josh Hazlewood is going to miss the Gabba Test next week with his oblique muscle strain. Patty Cummins should be right with his thigh but these injuries are due to not playing Sheffield Shield cricket before the Tests.
You’ve got to get your body right, used to the conditions of bowling long spells and you don’t get that from limited-overs cricket, even if they are ODIs.
When you’re unaccustomed to the soreness these things can happen.
I felt sorry for Marquino Mindley having to try to bowl in his first Test just a couple of days after flying halfway around the world as an injury replacement himself and then doing his hamstring after two overs.
It’s a tough gig being a fast bowler.