The Ashes 2019: Steve Waugh implores Aussie batsmen to follow Poms grinding lead in second dig

After Australia toiled through ‘one of those days’, Steve Waugh gave an insight into how the tourists could get back into the match - and it had a lot to do with the batsmen ‘doing the hard yards.’

Rory Burns was the star of day two with an unbeaten century.

• How one delivery showed Aussies way to victory
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Former Test captain Steve Waugh will be driving home the message to Australia’s batsmen that substance will beat style this Ashes series as the tourists chase their way back in to the first Test.

The last Aussie captain to win a Test series in England in 2001, also the last time the Aussies won at Edgbaston, has been entrenched with the team as a mentor for two weeks.

He conceded the day two result, as England took a stranglehold on the game, was just “one of

those days” with the bowlers continually beating the bat.

Rory Burns was the star of day two with an unbeaten century.

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Even a 138kph rocket from James Pattinson that hit the stumps didn’t dislodge the bails as the luck went all the home of the home team.

But Waugh, whose steely resolve and mental determination were hallmarks of a legendary career, said this group of players had to find those elements to succeed this series.

Waugh pointed to the century of English opener Rory Burns as a classic case of working hard rather than looking perfect as the benchmark for the Aussie batsmen, most of whom failed in the first innings.

“That’s Test match cricket, you’ve got to grind it out and do the hard yards,” Waugh said after day two.

Tim Paine and the Aussies have to learn from their first innings mistakes.

“It’s not about how good you look, it’s how many runs you get. It was a good innings for some of our players to look and learn.

“I know myself when you’re playing on tough Test match wickets and someone scores runs in the opposition, it would be smart to analyse how they got those runs and how they went about it.

“For our players when you watch someone get 120 not out you’ve got to take something from that and put it into your own game.”

The four-man Aussie attack netted just four wickets between them through 88 overs of toil, which included three from part-timers Matthew Wade and Travis Head.

James Pattinson made an impressive return to Test cricket after a three-year absence.

Waugh, who rarely needed a fifth bowler in his teams, which included greats Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, said the frontliners efforts were commendable.

But he also conceded a fifth real bowler would have helped on a wicket offering very little assistance.

“I think it is always useful, and when you haven’t taken too many wickets you look around to see who can bowl a few overs,” he said.

“We had the luxury of four great bowlers so we didn’t really need a fifth bowler. But on a day like today when you haven’t taken many wickets you need five or 10 overs from someone to help out.

Having Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne meant a fifth bowler was rarely needed..

“Having said that, the bowlers handled the workload pretty well and each one of the bowlers had their moments where they had their spells.

“It was pretty consistent but ideally it would be good to have another bowler.”

Despite the day of drudgery, Waugh declared this group would be able to shake it off and work their way back in to the game.

“If I was a player I wouldn’t want to be listening to too much chatter tonight. We had 90 overs in the field, it didn’t go our way. Let’s have a shower, a massage and a nice meal and go again tomorrow,” he said.

“It’s just one of those days of tough Test match cricket – you’ve got to fire up again and give it 100 per cent.”