Coach McDonald backs Smith, Labuschagne to fire in 2nd Test

Australia coach Andrew McDonald backed Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne to rebound from rare twin failures in the opening Ashes Test, but said it was a positive sign that his team could still win without getting hefty contributions from them.
The pair mustered only 35 runs between them at Edgbaston, where Australia won by two wickets thanks to a 55-run ninth-wicket partnership between captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.
McDonald said it was “very rare” for Smith and Labuschagne to misfire in the same Test match.
“They’re disappointed they missed out in this game, but I think any time the Australian cricket team can win without those two performing at high level is always a positive,” he added.
“We’ve got some areas we can improve, there’s some growth within the team and there’s two obvious ones.”
Labuschagne, who has been replaced by England’s Joe Root at the top of the Test rankings, was dismissed for a first-ball duck and 13 while Smith, who scored 774 runs in the 2019 series, scored a 59-ball 16 in the first innings and six in the second.
Australia’s coaching staff will be there to offer advice but McDonald expects the pair to work out their own solutions in net sessions.
“I think there’s always a curiosity to get better, so we’re not going to stall that in any way. They’ll come up with different plans, different movements,” he said.
“They’ve seen what England are going to do and how they’re going to attack them. They’re probably two of the greatest problem-solvers we’ve had over a period of time so you would expect them to go back to the drawing board.
“(Batting coach) Michael Di Venuto will be part of that process. They’ll come out pretty clear what they need to do next innings. But there’s no issue there.”
The second Test of the five-match series begins at Lord’s on June 28.
England’s style validated despite defeat to Australia: McCullum
England coach Brendon McCullum said the opening Ashes Test “validated” their attacking approach despite the two-wicket defeat at Edgbaston and that they would be even more aggressive in the second match of the series.
England were in the driver’s seat for much of the match but Australia’s often cautious approach prevailed thanks to a match-winning 55-run ninth-wicket partnership between captain Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon.
It was England’s third defeat in 14 Tests since McCullum joined captain Ben Stokes at the helm last May.
“Obviously you’d rather have won the game, but the way that we played, I think it’s validated our style,” McCullum told British media. “If we’d have got a little bit of the rub of the green then we might have been on the other side of it.
“It was a cracking Test match and two very different styles of play. But like a heavyweight boxing match, not everyone has to fight the same. I’m sure they (Australia) will stick solid to that strategy all the way through, which I think is great because we’ll go a little harder. I think it makes for a really entertaining next few Test matches.” Stokes said after the match he did not regret declaring England’s first innings on 393-8 on the first day and McCullum backed the skipper’s desire to take the game to the opposition.
“We always want to try and take the game forward,” he said. “We want to try and seize opportunities where we think we can put opposition teams under pressure. “We firmly believe, the skipper and I, that this gives us our greatest chance. I would be very surprised if there was too many people who disagree with how we go about playing, because everyone was left entertained. You’re not always going to win and we understand that. We want to keep getting up and throwing punches as a team, and I’m really proud of the way the guys played.”