Ashes 2023: Andrew McDonald backs Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to fire in second test

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne have been toppled on the world batting rankings, but coach Andrew McDonald has warned England runs are around the corner.

Unseated at the top of Test cricket’s batting rankings, Australian stars Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne will go back to the drawing board after rare twin failures in the first Test.

That Australia won the series opener at Edgbaston was made all the more remarkable by the fact the pair – who entered the match as the world’s top two Test batters on the ICC standings – combined for just 35 runs for the match.

Fellow Aussie Travis Head had been No. 3, but the trio have all been overtaken by England’s Joe Root, whose unbeaten first innings century helped catapult him from No. 6 to No. 1. New Zealand’s injured gun has moved back to No. 2, with Labuschagne at No. 3, Head at No. 4, Pakistan’s Babar Azam at No. 5 and Smith down to six. Player of the match Usman Khawaja has risen to No. 7.

Steve Smith has slid to six on the world batting rankings. Picture: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images

England veteran Stuart Broad had flagged pre-series that he had been working on his outswinger to especially trouble right-handers Labuschagne and Smith, who had been keys to Australia’s retention of the Ashes on English soil four years earlier.

Broad’s plans have reaped early dividends, with Labuschagne falling twice to the paceman, and Smith once.

Aussie coach Andrew McDonald said he anticipated both men would work diligently to deal with their latest challenge.

“There will be no doubt a craving for more net sessions from Marn (Labuschagne) and Smudge (Smith),” McDonald said.

“They’re disappointed they missed out in this game, but I think any time the Australian cricket team can win without those two performing at high level is always a positive.

‘We’ve got some areas we can improve, there’s some growth within the team and there’s two obvious ones.

“It’s very rare that Marn and Smudge miss out in the same Test match. It’s an appetising thought.”

Labuschagne was removed for a first ball duck in the first innings. Picture: Geoff Caddick / AFP

McDonald added that the Aussie coaches would let the pair seek to figure out their own solutions.

“I think there’s always a curiosity to get better, so we’re not going to stall that in any way,” McDonald said.

“They’ll come up with different plans, different movements.

“They’ve seen what England are going to do and how they’re going to attack them, and they’re probably two of the greatest problem-solvers we’ve had over a period of time so you would expect them to go back to the drawing board.

“And (assistant coach) Michael Di Venuto will be part of that process, and they’ll come out pretty clear what they need to do next innings.

“But there’s no issue there.”

McDonald was also upbeat about the prospects of opener David Warner, whose punchy second innings 36 at Edgbaston gave hope that he might have worked through his own previous issues with Broad.

David Warner showed promising signs in his second innings 36. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

“The way that he moved in the second innings with the intent that he had, along with the first innings at The Oval in the World Test Championship Final, anyone watching that would say those movement patterns are good, the intent that he had, the way that he was going about it is the way we want him to play and put pressure back on to England,” McDonald said.

“Albeit he didn’t get the big score that he wanted but I think he put a lot of pressure on them and at 0-70, he was looking pretty impressive then he feathers one through.

“So there’s a big score around the corner, no doubt.”

Originally published as Ashes 2023: Andrew McDonald backs Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to fire in second test