Labuschagne, Warner underline unrewarding day of toil for England

In what proved to be a challenging day for Australia in multiple ways, they rose to the task by grinding their way to 221/2 by the end of the first day of the D/N Test in Adelaide. Marnus Labuschagne’s unbeaten 95 and David Warner’s 95 were the catalysts in Australia’s defiance for a large part of the day.

The duo shared a partnership worth 172 before Warner fell to England’s short-ball ploy, missing a ton by a whisker for the second time in as many Tests. However, Labuschagne lived to survive another day, despite a few close calls, and continued to keep England at bay, adding a further 45 with stand-in skipper Steve Smith by the end of the day.

Smith, leading Australia for the first time since the Sandpaper fiasco, had to step in on the morning of the match after regular skipper Pat Cummins was deemed a close contact of a person who tested positive for COVID-19. And while he had no hesitation in opting to bat, England’s all-pace attack made life difficult for the batters.

The tone was set by the experienced duo of James Anderson and Stuart Broad, who probed away in a testing opening spell that yielded only 11 runs in 9 overs. Through that, Broad, operating from the now-famous around the wicket angle, had Marcus Harris in trouble multiple times. He had him adjudged LBW once before it was overturned on review, but soon had him edging behind a pull to be sensationally caught by Jos Buttler.

Warner, who managed to get off the mark only off the 20th delivery he faced and after Harris’ dismissal, remained patient right through the knock. England lost two reviews while trying to trap Warner LBW and resorted to different ploys including an extended short-ball strategy through Ben Stokes, primarily.

The short-ball ploy also gave Marnus Labuschagne a couple of nervous moments when he guided one perilously close to slip and then copped a couple of blows on the body, and was eventually dropped on 21 by Buttler off an edged pull.

But as the day wore on, Warner began to take a few more chances in the second session. Joe Root was driven and lofted while Stokes was slapped over cover and pulled as he got to a second consecutive fifty, off 106 balls. Labuschagne too followed up with his 12th fifty in Tests, taking as much as 156 balls.

The duo extended their dominance even into the final session despite a few nervous moments. But just as Warner began to open up more, pulling Stokes for a boundary, he fell to England’s trap. The short ball from Stokes was slapped straight to the lone man at cover, to be dismissed on 95, which follows his 94 in the first Test.

But both Labuschagne and Steve Smith, who was welcomed with a leg trap managed to see through England’s fast-medium spells with relative ease, and while Root’s offspin threatened to induce some luck, it never came close to resulting in a wicket. England’s final throw of the dice on the day came with the second new ball.

And it very nearly paid off, as Anderson continued to be on the money. His probing spell under the lights posed a few tough questions to Labuschagne. There were multiple plays and misses before he eventually edged one trying to punch off the backfoot. However, the straightforward chance was put down by Buttler with Labuschagne on 95, ending and unrewarding day of toil for England.

Brief Scores:

Australia 221/2

( David Warner 95, Marnus Labuschagne 95*) vs England

(Cricbuzz)