CRICKET | SIMON WILDE

The Ashes: How do England stop Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne?

In the second part of the Sunday Times’ Ashes countdown, Simon Wilde says the duo have shown weaknesses in English conditions, even if no elite batsman in the past 50 years has a better average than the Australian pair

Labuschagne, right, has a Test batting average of 57.52, while Smith’s is 59.80
Labuschagne, right, has a Test batting average of 57.52, while Smith’s is 59.80
MATT TURNER/EPA
Simon Wilde
The Sunday Times

Ben Stokes has a well-earned reputation for inventiveness in the field since taking over the England captaincy, and he will probably need all his ingenuity to keep in check the two Australian batsmen who most obviously stand in England’s way this summer.

Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne are essentially old-fashioned cricketers: the Test-match format is the one they prize most, and their trade is crease occupation. They know that if they stay in, the runs will come, and for no Test batsmen of the past 50 years with careers of any great length have they come at healthier averages than Smith (59.80) and Labuschagne (57.52).

There will be times when Stokes will have to be patient with them both and England must not make the