There was only one attraction during Yorkshire’s match against Glamorgan at Headingley this week. Jonny Bairstow, who is loved in these parts like no other, was part of the early sparring in this Ashes year as he faced off against Marnus Labuschagne, turning out for the Welsh outfit for a second season.
Both England and Australia have Test assignments before cricket’s greatest series resumes. For the Aussies, there’s the small matter of a World Test Championship to contest against India at the Oval; England must compete in a relatively lower-stakes curtain-raiser, taking on Ireland at Lord’s as they did in 2019.
But whatever may come in those matches, and whatever your feeling on Australians acclimitising to conditions in the Championship, it made for an absorbing contest at Yorkshire’s home of cricket as the Ashes subplot shaped the match in front of us.
I’ll be writing further on the similarities between England and Australia’s sides, but I think Bairstow and Labuschagne play similar roles for their teams, capable of batting long and making big hundreds in the middle-order. If one is kept quiet for the duration of the series, his team will be all the less likely to get their hands on that little urn. Both play similarly vital roles for their counties as batting mainstays (Labuschagne averaged 41 for Glamorgan in 2022), and the Australian was vital in preventing a Welsh collapse after losing the toss. In combination with Northeast, he managed just 10 off 70, leaving assiduously outside his off-stump1 and defending stoutly in tricky conditions.
There was a fascinating period of tactical play between the two on the first morning, whose echoes may be felt in the Ashes series to come.
As the above gallery shows, with the crease highlighted in pink, Labuschagne (who came in at 0-1 and saw his side slip to 1-2) began his innings standing some way down the pitch to Ben Coad. Coad, bowling only in the high 60s, was getting plenty of movement, so Labuschagne moved closer to the pitch of the ball to try and negate any movement off the seam.
As you can see, Yorkshire initially set up with four slips and a short leg, hoping to make the most of any movement and challeng both edges of the bat. They had some success, squaring the Australian up on a couple of occasions and squeezing the ball out to short leg.
This delivery demonstrates the delicate balance of risk for Labuschagne. Had he been further back, this delivery might have pinned him on the crease LBW; as it is, he is squared up and pushes it towards a diving Dom Bess. Had Bess fielded the ball, Labuschagne could have been run out; but if the ball had gone through to Bairstow, the batsman is unlikely to be stumped because of the keeper’s position, back from the stumps. Labuschagne’s calculation is that he is safer out of the popping crease than he is in it; that his odds of being run out or stumped are significantly less (because Bairstow is standing back to the seamer) than his odds of nicking off, or getting out LBW or bowled further back, becuase he is minimising the opportunity for the ball to move.
A few overs later, Labuschagne makes another move. Ben Coad bowls slowly - generally between 60 and 75 miles per hour. The threat to Labuschagne is in lateral movement through the air, rather than being beaten for pace. So, he reasons, why not walk down the track?
You can see here that Labuschagne starts just outside the popping crease, in the position shown above. As Coad nears the end of his run-up, Marnus takes a couple of steps down - but crucially, is able to stabilise his body and head position by the time Coad is in his delivery stride. Labuschagne has also opened his stance slightly, enabling him to run the ball through third if it is wide, or play with balance through the leg-side if Coad errs straight.
Labuschagne has moved his position on the risk-reward axis in his favour. There is still minimal risk to moving another pace down the track - even if he misses, Bairstow would need to hit the stumps from twenty yards, and Marnus has plenty of time to get home.
Jonny wasted no time in responding, coming up to the stumps. Bairstow is a reliable enough keeper to comfortably claim anything Labuschagne leaves alone or misses, and the slips are still there awaiting an outside edge - notice how fine first slip is, standing in line with the edge of the cut strip.
Not only can Labuschagne now not risk coming down the pitch in the way he did a ball before, but he is actually forced even further back. He must anchor his back foot behind the popping crease or risk being stumped, limiting his range of movement - both forward and back, but also laterally. Being stuck on the crease also means that the ball has more time to move out of the hand or off the pitch.
The gallery above indicates the impact of this. Labuschagne is frequently squared up and beaten on both edges, looking much less comfortable at the crease. This contributed to his slow rate of scoring early on, reaching just 19 off his first hundred balls. He made it through that Coad spell, and we were sadly denied a real resumption of the battle, with the Yorkshire bowler forced off with an injury.
All this adds a fascinating little sub-plot to the pre-Ashes hype. Will Bairstow be selected as England’s keeper? He certainly demonstrated his technical attributes here, executing a brilliant catch later on, and was flawless while standing up to Ben Coad.
It’s difficult to see this tactic replicated - either from Labuschagne or Bairstow - against the likes of Wood, Archer or Stone; but versus Anderson, Broad and Woakes, would Labuschagne use the crease in the same way? Could Bairstow (or Foakes) respond in kind? This innings had the air of two prime fighters feeling their way into the contest, trying to show each other what they can do before they get going in earnest.
One feels Billy Root has something to learn in this area…