Ashes 2019 | Lord's Day 5 Talking Points - Jofra Archer's abrasive arrows and Marnus Labuschagne's Steve Smith impression

Ashes 2019 | Lord's Day 5 Talking Points - Jofra Archer's abrasive arrows and Marnus Labuschagne's Steve Smith impression

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A total of just 289 overs were bowled in the entirety of the match, but it turned out to be one for the ages as both teams brought out their A-game at the Home of Cricket. Travis Head and Marnus Labuchagne grinded out for a dramatic draw in the last hour to ensure Aussies retained their 1-0 lead.

Arise, Sir Ben Stokes

At stumps on Day 4, everyone, including probably the English, were certain that there were only two results possible on Day 5 - an Australia win, or the most likely one - a draw. The first ball of the day from Pat Cummins was a play and miss from Ben Stokes, and one got the feeling that was going to be the pattern for the day, as Australia started the day in search of a win. Oh how wrong we all were! Just balls later, Stokes made his intention clear by absolutely crashing one through the covers off the same bowler, and boy did he not look back after that. 

With every passing delivery, the all-rounder sucked the living soul out of the Aussie bowlers, frustrating, manipulating, tiring and assaulting them at his own mercy, ensuring that he completely batted them out of the game. It was a masterclass in calculated risk-taking, as he waited for the right time to size his opponents and unleash on them. In the first session of the day, Stokes took a more conservative approach, scoring 51 runs from the 112 deliveries he faced, while in the post-lunch session, he threw caution to the wind, scoring 64 runs off 53 balls, striking many a lusty blow. Of course, a part of the credit should also go to Jos Buttler, who complimented his partner perfectly by absorbing everything the Aussies threw at him.

In no way would it be an understatement to say that Stokes is by far England’s best and most important batsman, as time and again, the Englishman has shown that he is the go-to man for each and every situation. At one point in the World Cup, it felt like he was fighting the lone battle, but soon enough, he inspired more men to support him and ended up winning the war, and one wonders if the same thing might just unravel in the Ashes as the series progresses.

Jofra Archer passes his “debut” Test with flying colours

By the time Jofra Archer made his ODI debut, he was already a seasoned veteran and an extremely popular entity in world cricket despite being just 24-years-old, thanks to his T20 stints all around the world and of course, his Tweets. To be fair, there wasn’t much pressure on his shoulders when he made his ODI debut, all he needed to do was deliver his country their maiden World Cup, and he did so, by barely breaking a sweat. 

Just like his introduction to ODI cricket, all that was expected of Archer in Tests was to rattle the best batsman in the world and help his team win the Ashes, and whilst he has already the done the former, the latter is not out of his reach too. On Day 4, on what could be possibly be described as the most hostile, venomous, aggressive spell of Test bowling the world has witnessed in a long long time, the Barbados-born speedster left Steve Smith battered and bruised, even forcing him off the field, potentially putting his participation in the next test in jeopardy.

On Day 5, when skipper Joe Root declared with just 49 overs left in the day, all he had in his mind was “Jofra Archer”, and with an almost “say no more” approach, the speedster produced yet another impeccable spell of quick bowling to dismiss David Warner first, and then Usman Khawaja, before striking Marnus Labuschange on the grill on his very second delivery.

Never in recent memory has any player walked into his “debut” with such pressure on his shoulder like Archer has, and certainly, never before has any bowler remotely had the kind of impact and instilled fear in the minds of the batsmen like Archer has. England needed a superhero to rescue them out of the rut they found themselves in, and in Archer, they have found one.

Marnus Labuschagne -  Steve Smith’s worthy “like for like” replacement

At lunch yesterday, Labuschagne would probably have wondered how great it would have been had he made his Ashes debut at Lord’s in front of a packed crowd against a fired-up Archer. Well, 24 hours later, his dream became a reality thanks to chaos that ensued around him, and the Queenslander found himself walking into a situation which demanded him to bat through the rest of the day to save his country from a certain defeat.

On just his second delivery, the 25-year-old copped one onto his grill off the bowling of Archer and was floored instantly, but in no time, he got up and stared right into the eyes of the speedster suggesting him to “go back and bowl”, almost reminiscent of a certain Ricky Ponting doing the same to Javagal Srinath a good 20 years ago. He literally walked into hell, but in the end, emerged victorious, fighting all his demons, almost bestowing himself with the title of the “Devil’s own demon”. 

For a casual viewer, he might be an unknown entity, but by the time the people figured out how to spell his name, he’d already raced off to 41*, ensuring that his team still held the upper hand in the series as they walked back to the pavilion. This, in no way is surprising, however, as he’d proved months ago in his stint with Glamorgan that he was the real deal, accumulating more than 1000 runs at an average over 65.  In many ways, he was unlucky to have missed out on selection, but alas, after having gotten his chance in the most unfortunate of situations, he made sure he made it count.

Michael Holding on air in the morning joked that Australia would never be able to find a “like for like” replacement for Smith, but hey, even if it was for just 100 balls, Marnus Labuschagne ensured that he proved the West Indian partly wrong. 

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