Manchester: When Mitchell Marsh leaned forward to punch Moeen Ali wide of the cover sweeper around 20 minutes before tea on the fourth day, Australia notched only their second century stand since the Lord’s Test.
Marnus Labuschagne’s century, his first in England in his eighth Test here, was the headline event of the 30 overs bowled in the narrow gap between the rain clouds at Old Trafford, but it was the union with Marsh that mattered most.
Mitchell Marsh and Marnus Labuschagne put on a century stand.Credit: Getty
Since Marsh’s productive union with Travis Head on the opening day at Headingley, none had reached triple figures in a pair of innings where Australia had the chance to bat their opponents out of the series. England, by contrast, had two big ones in the key first innings of this game.
It’s telling that for all the extravagance of England’s play in the Bazball era, the establishment of partnerships has been an area in which they’ve been able to match or even beat Australia across the series so far.
As of night four, with the fourth Test still tantalisingly poised amid an uncertain weather forecast, England have had five stands worth 100 or more for the series plus another two in the 90 to 99 range. Australia have also had five century stands, but their next best was worth 81.
At the same time, there are multiple moments at which a seasoned batting lineup should have known better than to lose concentration the way they have. Labuschagne’s exit, closely followed by that of Steve Smith, to the spin of Moeen Ali in Leeds sticks out most egregiously in the mind.
But there were also the litany of “handy” stands on day one here when one or two growing to triple figure dimensions would have made a huge difference to the rest of the way Manchester has played out.
For that, Labuschagne, Smith and David Warner are among the most culpable, for all have got plenty of starts while only the former two have managed to go on to something substantial.
Why? Much credit must go of course to Ben Stokes and his bowlers, for England have repeatedly posed questions of the Australians when other captains would have sat back and allowed the game to drift once a stand of around 50 has taken place.
Doubtless the Australian top order has taken time, perhaps too much, getting used to the fact that Stokes will always be at them, a contrast to the greater tactical conservatism of Joe Root. As Usman Khawaja put it during his 141 at Edgbaston:
“My game was changing constantly while I’m out there. I’m looking at fields, changing the way I play, changing my set-up at the crease, it’s never as simple as doing the same thing over and over. The process is simple, because I’m doing it over and over again, but I’m not brain-dead out there. I have to watch what the field is doing, what they might try to do and play accordingly. My brain is always ticking.“
Jonny Bairstow catches out Marnus Labuschagne.Credit: Getty
The passages of play on day four demonstrated that the rewards can be rich for Australia if they are able to navigate their way through Stokes’ various traps and snares. The crowd was muted, the bowlers and fielders started to look agitated, and ultimately attention turned to the ball. Members of Ashes-winning Australian sides in England can all relate to how pleasant it can be to play here, provided the crowd is kept quiet.
Australia were also aided by a sympathetic judgment from the umpires that the light was too dim for Stokes to call back Mark Wood for another spell once the ball had been changed. The importance of that moment was underlined by how much Stokes remonstrated – the most animated he had been for a while, perhaps since Jonny Bairstow’s stumping at Lord’s.
Umpires Nitin Menon (l) and Joel Wilson talk to England captain Ben Stokes after they deem the light not good enough to continue with fast bowlers.Credit:
Labuschagne, having sculpted his innings so well to provide a reminder that he is indeed a top-class player, perceptibly lost concentration after reaching three figures. Joe Root, a canny finger spinner, had earlier deceived Labuschagne and first slip Zak Crawley with a princely arm ball that swung nicely away. He extracted more than enough bounce to make cutting risky.
It is understandable for any batter to have to reset upon reaching a century given the significance of the milestone, but it was not the scenario in which Labuschagne could afford to be content. It’s worth noting, too, that the only two innings of 150-plus in the series have both been by England.
Without a decisive victory in the final match of the series at the Oval, Australia will regret the fact that there has, at times, been a lack of ruthlessness about the way they have batted.
While Stokes, Wood, Chris Woakes and Stuart Broad in particular have kept asking questions, the world’s top-ranked side would have expected that unions like that of Labuschagne and Marsh would have come around much more often.
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