Ashes 2023: "What England Did Well In The First Test Was To Create A Different Angle For Him" - Nasser Hussain On Steve Smith’s Failures

Cricketer-turned-commentator Nasser Hussain said that English bowlers executed their plans well against ace Australian batters Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith to dismiss them for low scores in the first Test of the ongoing Ashes series at Edgbaston, Birmingham.

Smith and Labuschagne added a combined total of 35 runs in Australia’s two-wicket victory in the Ashes opener. Labuschagne registered a golden duck in the first inning and scored 13 runs in the second innings. Smith managed to end with 22 runs in the entire match.

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In his column for the Daily Mail, Nasser Hussain mentioned that England’s bowlers tried different angles against Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, and it did pay off for them in the series opener.

“What England did well in the first Test was to create a different angle for him to contend with — essentially by going wide on the crease. If that ball goes straight on, he’s an lbw candidate, as Ben Stokes proved in Smith’s first innings,” Hussain said.

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“If it straightens off the surface, he’s in danger of nicking off, as Broad showed in the second. The only way for a batter to deal with a geometrical problem like that is to go away and train the brain. It’s not easy to solve, but Smith solves problems better than anyone,” he added.

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That Brings The Outside Edge Into Play – Nasser Hussain

The former England skipper highlighted technical flaws in Marnus Labuschagne‘s batting in the first Test, adding that the batter took middle-and-off-stump guard.

“It was surprising to watch Marnus Labuschagne bat on off stump at Edgbaston, and I wonder if it was something that started during his time with Glamorgan,” he further stated.

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“Usually, he’d take a middle or middle-and-off-stump guard, but it’s possible he’s been trying to get outside the line of off stump on those slow, low wickets at Cardiff to lessen the chances of falling lbw.

Now his off-stump guard means he is playing at those balls, and that brings the outside edge into play. The question is whether he can change his technique in the week before Lord’s,” he concluded.

Marnus Labuschagne has been dethroned as the No. 1 Test batter in the ICC rankings following his subpar performances in the World Test Championship Final and the first Ashes Test. The right-handed batter scored only one half-century in his last 12 innings.

Also read: Ashes 2023: “Australia Go In The Second Test, Definitely Being The Favorites To Win This Ashes” – Ravichandran Ashwin

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