A wealth of experience and an ability to adapt on the run rather than dwell on mistakes has Australia well placed to avoid letting England back into the series
Middle-order pair Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith believe a well-led, well-drilled Australian team has the confidence and experience to ensure recent history doesn’t repeat itself in the form of a dramatic comeback from England in the back-end of this Ashes series.
It was just two years ago that Australia found themselves with a two-nil series lead over a Ben Stokes-led outfit – one they ultimately surrendered as the home side came off the canvas to square that 2023 Ashes two-apiece.
And it might have been worse; but for a fighting Labuschagne century and some helpful Manchester weather in the drawn fourth Test, Australia could have become just the second team in Test history to lose a five-match series after leading two-nil.
This time around, Labuschagne sees some key differences which he believes will ensure the hosts err towards another recent trend – that of Australia being extremely dominant over England on their home patch.
“We’re in a really nice spot where we’re just really process driven, focusing on what we need to do to be ready for those big moments in games, and understanding what we need to do,” he said.
“I look back at this (second Test) … we were (focused on) what we were trying to do tactically and understanding what the game needed at that moment.
“I thought we did that really well (in Sunday’s first session). We didn’t try and force it. Although we didn’t get the wickets in the first two hours, we didn’t panic. We didn’t go extravagant. Steve (Smith) did an amazing job again, another win for him as captain.
“And it shows you the calmness and the patience from Pat (Cummins), Steve and (head coach) Andrew McDonald and all the coaching staff to just keep reiterating that (outlook) off the field.”
Labuschagne’s viewpoint was in stark contrast to Stokes’, who spoke of a need for his players to better handle difficult situations and intense Ashes pressure.
“I remember my first team chat with ‘Baz’, it was, ‘Our blueprint is about applying pressure to the opposition, but also understanding that we do need to absorb that at moments’,” he explained.
“I will agree and say that we are a much better team at applying it than we are at absorbing it at the moment.”
Smith, who crunched the winning runs at the Gabba with a massive six over square leg to seal the two-nil lead, feels the experience of this Australian squad has come to the fore during key moments in the series.
“We’ve identified (those) moments in the game and made the most of them,” he said. “I think that’s one thing this team’s done for the last four years. We play ‘live’ – we adapt on the go, instead of getting back in the sheds and going, ‘We should have done this’.
“We identify what we need to do at that present moment and adapt. And I think we’ve done that well for a long period of time.
“Sometimes it’s just playing the long game. I thought we did that really well today, when the ball wasn’t offering a heap … we tried to keep it as tight as we could, we got the rate down as low as it’s been for the game, and we were kind of working towards that second new ball.
“So I think we’ve just adapted so well the last couple of years, and played in real time, I suppose.”
2025-26 NRMA Insurance Men’s Ashes
First Test: Australia won by eight wickets
Second Test: Australia won by eight wickets
Third Test: December 17-21: Adelaide Oval, 10:30am AEDT
Fourth Test: December 26-30: MCG, Melbourne, 10:30am AEDT
Fifth Test: January 4-8: SCG, Sydney, 10:30am AEDT
Australia squad (second Test only): Steve Smith (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Brendan Doggett, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Mitchell Starc, Jake Weatherald, Beau Webster
England squad: Ben Stokes (c), Harry Brook (vc), Jofra Archer, Gus Atkinson, Shoaib Bashir, Jacob Bethell, Brydon Carse, Zak Crawley, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Ollie Pope, Matthew Potts, Joe Root, Jamie Smith (wk), Josh Tongue, Mark Wood
