New Zealand fall prey to Australia’s Steve Smith-shaped trap
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Three Tests and 500 overs into the series, the realization - that of Steve Smith being a well-laid out trap, a mere bait - has not yet struck New Zealand. Marnus Labuschagne - and not Steve Smith - was always Australia’s designated assassin, and he executed the kill to perfection.
It didn’t happen overnight, nor was it a plan devised after Smith’s evident struggles against Neil Wagner, it was always Australia’s ploy from the very first ball in Perth. In fact, it has been Australia’s plan throughout the entirety of the summer. Perhaps their Kiwi neighbours would have figured it out had they caught a glimpse of the Pakistan series, where the understudy scored 307 runs more than his master.
Due to Smith having transformed into this other-worldly phenomenon, the sheer jubilation of taking his wicket gets to teams, so much so that they lose track of the bigger picture - that of winning the game. New Zealand were lured into this trap like mice baited by a slice of cheese and they fell right into it.
As it turned out, Australia’s stratagem to throw Smith in the firing line, to use him as a mere smokescreen, worked wonders. Tempted by the opportunity to net the big fish, the Kiwis left themselves vulnerable and strode onto the field. They did eventually get the big fish, and pretty easily, but only at the cost of them taking an arrow to their heart from the hands of Labuschagne, who must have had a wild grin on his face knowing that the enemy had fallen right into the trap.
But you can’t blame them, can you? Who wouldn’t be enticed at an opportunity to shut down the imminent threat of Steve Smith? After all, he is (or at least before the series begun, was) the best batsman in the world. But when you’re up against an impregnable batting side in the form of Australia, that too in their own backyard, it is pivotal to be crystal clear about what your plans are going to be - not just against one batsman, but each and every one of them.
New Zealand failed, and failed miserably, and were guilty of not doing their homework. Their ploy in this series was similar to that of having eleven men man-mark Messi in a team that also has Neymar and Suarez and be content with not letting Messi score a goal; It doesn’t really matter when the other two ravage the defence and score hat-tricks.
And that is exactly what has unravelled in this series. The days’ play today in Sydney epitomized everything wrong about their approach in this series, one that gifted the hosts the series on a silver platter. When Marnus Labuschagne walked in to bat at 39/1 in the first hour of the day, the game was well and truly in the balance.
The noose was tightened - New Zealand had conceded just 1 run off the previous 20 deliveries and had also removed Joe Burns - Warner was in a tangle - itchy, scratchy and living dangerously - and both CDG and Wagner were in impeccable rhythm. In walks Labuschagne and well, surprise surprise, the bowlers do not have a plan to execute; they are blank, they do not know what to do. Two boundaries in the first four balls off deliveries sliding down the leg meant that the Queenslander was away, and had shut down any hopes of the visitors getting a look-in.
But the telling moment of the day - which was also a representation of what’d been a telling feature throughout the entirety of the series - came in the 28th over of the game, when David Warner was dismissed. With Smith - who in the first two Tests was a defenceless, defeated warrior versus the short ball - walking in to bat, the Kiwis had their tails up, plans ready and were hankering to go for the kill.
He was smashed on the tummy on his very first ball and the bowlers had made their message clear. For the next 38 balls, Smith would not go on to score a single run, and every time he geared up to face a delivery, he’d receive one directed towards his left-shoulder, in an around the armpit. The tactic was clear and the pressure was relentless, and in a way, the visitors had unsettled Smith.
However, ironically, that was where they lost the plot. Led by Wagner, New Zealand were so engrossed in getting Steve Smith out that, in the 43 minutes that the New South Welshman spent grinding it out, they’d forgotten about the real threat at the other end. Whilst Smith was being peppered with short-balls, Labuschagne was being handed rank half-volleys outside off; whilst the field was packed for one, it was open for the other and whilst the No.4 was struggling to pierce to the fielders, the No.3 was creaming the ball to the boundary. By the time Smith scored his first run, Labuschagne had already raced off to 42*, and the game had slipped away from New Zealand.
And any shred of doubt that existed - of New Zealand not having a plan to dismiss Labuschagne - was cleared up in the 47th over when Matt Henry came back for his third spell. While for Smith, the field was packed and the plan was set, with a leg-slip, leg-gully, short fine-leg and a long leg in place, for Labuschagne, there was barely a fielder behind or around his bat, despite him just having crossed fifty. It was a clear ‘we don’t care about you, all we need is Smith’ message sent by the bowlers to the Aussies which, eventually and unsurprisingly, led to their downfall.
Against Smith, New Zealand had executed their plan to perfection, but to their dismay, it ended up playing right into Australia’s hands, for the hosts’ trap had worked to perfection. 40 and 1 were the scores when Labuschagne walked in to bat in the first two Tests and here in Sydney, today, it was 39. But on all three occasions, they’d conveniently ignored his presence, so much so that he ended up hurting them like no other, scoring 405 runs in total.
In their quest to capture the bigger fish, they missed the smaller, more lethal one - one that stung them so hard to the point of no return. Perhaps, this will be a lesson for the visiting teams in the future, for, at least at home, Marnus Labuschagne is no more just an understudy, but the mastermind; the team’s designated hitman. Australia sacrificed Smith and conceded the battle, but in the process, ensured that they slaughtered their enemies in the war.
