We’re finding a way against the odds

Our catching was bad and our use of the DRS was worse but there is a character in this group that refuses to give up.

Marnus Labuschagne was a revelation in the second innings on short notice

We drove to Leeds on Monday tired, still excited about the Lord’s Test but keen to get the third one starting tomorrow.

There is a special feeling among this squad.

It’s an odd thing to say when you didn’t win the match, but we didn’t lose it and that was a victory in itself. There were a few things we know we could have done better, but we were all so happy about how we got through the game.

You can’t always be on top in Test cricket and things don’t always go your way, but the reason I was happy and the squad was in such good spirits is we found a way to limit the damage and hang on.

Sometimes you have to make sure you live to fight another day.

One of the things we have talked about since we arrived is finding a way when the game seems loaded against you. We are determined to dig in and defend when under siege. We know that a bad session can cost you a Test or even a series. There will be an hour when the other team has the ascendancy but you have to find a way to stop that. You can be bowled out in a session in England so you have to slow the other team’s momentum.

There was a young player in this game who did just that when called in at short notice.

We lost our best batsman, Steve Smith, we were batting in half light and we were facing some serious bowling on a pitch that was challenging. There’s plenty of things we got wrong. Our catching was bad and our use of the DRS was worse but there is a character in this group that refuses to give up and I am proud of that.

Winning away has become the hardest thing in Test cricket. To get to the third Test with a win and a draw is an achievement and one I think any touring side would take.

Everyone was talking about Steve after Edgbaston because of his centuries and they were talking about him for other reasons after he was ruled out in this one. He showed great courage to go out and bat again after being hit. It would have shaken anyone up but he just wanted to get back out there and keep batting. I guess that’s what he does.

And then everyone was talking about Jofra Archer and why not? It’s fantastic to see a young cricketer with so much talent come onto the scene and it was a bit of a buzz to face him at Lord’s. He’s fast for sure, but in Australia we’ve been brought up facing guys of his pace. Every time we have a net we have Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins and James Pattinson coming at us like we are the opposition.

It’s going to be fun for everyone to watch how Jofra’s career turns out. People of his talent are why we play Test cricket. You want to face the best, you want to be on the extremes challenging yourself and putting into place all the things you’ve learned over the journey.

I can’t get over how well Marnus Labuschagne went when called in at extremely short notice. If I was giving votes for that game I’m giving them to him, but I might be a bit biased. He went to bed on Saturday night planning to have an early net session and that’s what he did. The guys not playing often leave ahead of the team so they can get a hit in.

When we realised Steve wouldn’t play we knew we had to get a message to him and we also knew he would be training and not looking at his phone. So I got into a car and headed to Lord’s. I know he is one of those guys who will train himself into the ground and I didn’t want that. He was in the nets on the nursery ground when I arrived and I went over and said “Take it easy, mate, you are batting today”.

I wish you could have seen the look on his face. Some players would panic, or get anxious about what lay ahead, but he just broke into this smile. He loves cricket like a kid loves Christmas. We might rib him about his endless enthusiasm and his constant chatter but he is one of those people who energises a group.

I hope people appreciate what he did in that innings. To replace Steve who had been concussed and to wear a nasty blow second delivery you face when you get out there would unsettle most players, but not Marnus. He revels in that stuff. It’s the sort of craziness that marks a special cricketer and he has the potential to be that.

The other thing that was so satisfying about his innings was that it further confirmed our belief that it takes a squad to win a series. You can’t rely on a Steve Smith or a Jofra Archer, you have to have depth and I believe we have that in our batting and bowling.

David Warner hasn’t hit his straps yet and I notice people getting a bit trigger happy on that subject, but I am not worried. We are 1-0 up in the series and he hasn’t got out of the blocks. He is a match winner and the sort of player who comes up with an innings that takes the game away from the opposition. He is also the most mentally tough cricketer I know. He is due a score and that is a dividend I am looking forward to.

This Ashes series is shaping up to be one of the best of all time. It’s a quick turnaround to the third Test but I am as keen for it to start as I was when I was a boy staying up late at night in Tasmania watching David Boon and Ricky Ponting take on England.

I’m hoping this series is one that will live in people’s memories a long time. It’s shaping up that way.