Marnus Labuschagne expects England to continue their short ball barrage in the third Test, but sounded a warning he is ready for the likely return of Mark Wood to bolster England’s bowling attack in a match they must win or draw to keep the Ashes alive.
Wood was left out of the pink ball Test but his express pace will almost certainly be called upon after England’s selection of four right arm seamers and Ben Stokes failed to contain Australia’s batters.
Labuschagne didn't score in the second innings at the Gabba, but has made two half-centuries and a ton that earned him Player of the Match honours in Adelaide.
England’s poor fielding has played a part in Labuschagne’s fortunes; he was dropped twice by Buttler, off the bowling of Stokes when he was on 22 and then off Anderson when he was five runs short of his century in the second innings of the day/night Test.
“Obviously Mark Wood didn't play this game,” Labuschagne said after the second Test.
“And the way I look at it is potentially to play at least one of the next two games.
“I don't know which way they’ll go, but for me, it's just making sure that I'm always trying to read what the game plan is and in some aspects, the game plan almost worked.
“You know, I've had that one that I gloved down leg side and Jos Buttler dropped it, fortunately for me, but I think it's a tactic they might use a little bit more depending on if I get out early or stay at the crease a little bit longer.
“But my job is to think about just making sure I'm ready for all all bases covered and make sure that when the time comes and they do go the short pitched tactic that I’m ready.”
Labuschagne believes England’s short ball plan, which often saw Stokes come on to fill an ‘enforcer’ role in the absence of Wood, played into the hands of Australia’s batters, particularly David Warner, whose 95 runs in the first innings set the tone for Labuschagne (103 runs) and Steve Smith (93 runs).
“I think as we've seen this Test they bowled really well that first innings, we didn't really get away, Davey was the only one that really was able to put a bit of pressure on and get that scoring rate moving," he said.
“But it’s good to see that whatever they're throwing at us at the moment we've been able to counter that. But we don't want to get too far ahead of ourselves, we want to make sure we're ready for anything that they can throw at us in the next couple of games.
Labuschagne sounded a warning to England that Smith’s best is yet to come.
Standing in as captain after Pat Cummins was forced out of the first Test due to a COVID scare, Smith’s performance with the bat suggested he has regained his rhythm after an 11 month gap between Tests ended at the Gabba.
“He hasn't played Test cricket for a year and it's taken two innings, he batted beautifully in that innings in some very tricky conditions, it was nipping around, so I think it's very exciting to see," he said.
“He was obviously very disappointed not to go on and make a really big score there because it’s something we’re so accustomed to seeing from Steve.
“I think it's very exciting for the rest of the series because I think if he gets in he's gonna make some really big scores in the next three Tests.
“Hopefully I can be out there with him where we can really be partnerships but I'm really excited for the his series for the rest of the year.”
