Marnus Labuschagne declared that Australia had no intentions to “give England a sniff” after his century hindered the hosts’ effort for an Ashes-leveling victory in the fourth Test match, which took place on Saturday at Old Trafford.
The match was part of the Ashes series.
In Manchester, England dominated the opening three days of the match, scoring 592 runs in their first innings. Opener Zak Crawley scored 189 runs, while Jonny Bairstow scored an impressive 99 runs without being out.
However, at the conclusion of the fourth day on Saturday, which was hampered by rain and only allowed for 30 overs, Australia’s second innings score stood at 214-5, which represented a deficit of 61 runs.
On Saturday, Labuschagne was the only batsman to be dismissed, but that was after the top-order batter had already reached 111 runs. This was only Labuschagne’s second Test century outside of Australia, and it was his greatest overseas total at this level.
He had a stand of 103 with Mitchell Marsh, who was not out at the time, which added to the frustrations of an England team that is now behind the series 2-1 with two matches left to play and has to win in Manchester in order to keep their hopes alive of regaining the Ashes.
After being warned by the umpires that the waning light prevented him from bowling quicks, England’s skipper Ben Stokes ultimately lost Labuschagne when he was caught behind by Joe Root’s occasional off-spin. This came after Stokes was cautioned by the umpires that he could not bowl his quicks.
Before this match, the 29-year-old had a hard time getting runs, but on Saturday he scored a century, making it his 11th in 42 Tests. This came after he scored 51 runs in Australia’s first innings.
“I feel like my game is in a really good space now,” said Labuschagne. “I’m really excited about the future.”
“When I came into this game, I had full faith in my technique and the way that I was hitting the ball. I was able to keep my composure and focus on my advantages, which resulted in them having to throw a lot more balls at me, which slowed down the pace of the game.
‘Golden arm’
Even more precipitation is expected for the last day of play on Sunday at Old Trafford, and if the match ends in a tie, Australia will keep the Ashes regardless of the outcome of the fifth and final test, which will take place at the Oval the following week.
In response to speculation that the reigning world champions of the Test cricket competition, Australia, may have objectives in Manchester that include grabbing the lead and then attempting to bowl England out of the match, Labuschagne said, “I think we’re just going to let it play out, get bowled out when we do.” I don’t believe we’re going to give England even a whiff of a chance, and I think that’s precisely what they want.
Marcus Trescothick, who works as the batting coach for England, praised Joe Root’s bowling for putting the home team in a position where they have a chance to win.
“Joe has a touch of the golden arm, doesn’t he? He always manages to find a solution…Trescothick stated of the great batsman’s off-breaks, “He bowls the odd delivery that really surprises people.” [Cricketer] “He bowls the odd delivery that really surprises people.”
As for any role that the weather might play on Sunday, former England opener Trescothick, who won the Ashes in 2005, stated the following: “Everyone’s got a different (weather app) on their phones, lots of different ones on computers knocking around, and unfortunately, they’re all pretty much saying the same thing at the moment: rain.”
“Let’s see what happens next. We shall seize upon every chance that presents itself to us in the heart of the action tomorrow and do so with both hands.