“The thought was how are they going to do it against our bowlers and they showed they can do it, but with a wicket that might have a little bit more in it, what‘s it going to look like? “And from a bowling perspective … you come in with all these plans of how you‘re going to do it, but until you experience it, it is very hard to say ‘OK, we’re going to do this’. “He played an unbelievable innings but he ended up getting 46, and if turns into 80-plus we’re chasing 300 and that’s going to be a pretty big effort. He probably had an opportunity to shut us out and take the game away from us completely. “I use that second innings as an example. “Him (Root) playing that method and those shots are keeping us in the game,” Labuschagne said. With most of the English players adamant they will go “harder” when the second Test starts on Wednesday, Labuschagne said it might once again help the tourists. The Australian batting dynamo was dethroned from the top ranking by English rival Joe Root, who scored an unbeaten 118 in the first innings at Edgbaston but was out for 46 in the second innings trying to take down Nathan Lyon. Marnus Labuschagne is adamant the Bazball style of batting being employed by England’s cavalier top order will be tested if the Lord’s pitch delivers the speedier wicket the home team wants after Australia won the opening Ashes clash despite an “under par” performance. “But he’s a top guy, and I think in an Ashes series, these things are really brought to light. And sometimes I think in a big series like this, emotions almost take over while you’re on the pitch,” Pope said. “I think Ollie is the kind of guy who gets in the battle. However, Pope has gone in to bat for his teammate and claimed Robinson’s passionate displays are “just the way he plays his cricket.” It sparked a wave of criticism from Australian cricket greats like Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting, with Michael Clarke also claiming Robinson “needs to shush” and that he “wouldn’t even get a game” if all the English bowlers were fully fit. Robinson came under fire for his expletive-laden send-off when he snared the wicket of Usman Khawaja in the first Test at Edgbaston, but was let off with just a stern warning by the match officials. England vice-captain Ollie Pope insists Ollie Robinson’s exuberant celebrations in the first Test were “nothing personal” and hopes the latter can “celebrate in the way he wants to celebrate.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |