Damien Fleming, a former Australian fast bowler, believes that Usman Khawaja deserves a lot of credit for keeping Australia competitive in the first Ashes Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham. Notably, three of Australia’s top four batsmen were unable to reach their full potential during the contest.
David Warner‘s difficulties in England persisted as he was dismissed for nine and 36 in his two innings, while world No. 1 Marnus Labuschagne also had a torrid time, accumulating scores of 0 and 13. In contrast, Steve Smith only managed 16 and six points, respectively. The 36-year-old Khawaja scored a magnificent 141 off 321 balls in the first inning and will start Day 5 on 34*.
“Without Usman Khawaja, we wouldn’t be in this position,” said Fleming during an appearance on the SEN podcast ‘Whateley’.
I cannot recall the last time David Warner was as anxious as he was during the first inning. Marnus Labuschagne was experimenting with unconventional delivery methods. Steve Smith never appeared to be himself, and Travis Head and Cameron Green were quite nervous to begin.
Damien Fleming offers his opinion on Broad and Smith dismissing Labuschagne and Labuschagne.
The opening pair of Warner and Khawaja propelled Australia to 61/0 in their pursuit of 281 runs. Ollie Robinson, however, terminated Warner, which opened the floodgates.
Labuschagne was expected to demonstrate why he is currently regarded as one of the greatest Test batters; however, he was dismissed by a rampaging Stuart Broad, who went on to take Smith’s wicket as well. Fleming referred to the wickets of the two right-handers as “massive” and explained that the English pacers deliver well to left-handers, while Moeen Ali is available to spin the ball away from them.
“It’s monumental because much of the analysis leading up to the game focused on how our lefties will perform compared to 2019. “Is it going to be the same—around the wicket, wobbled seam, cross-seam—and they may want the ball to go straight on?” he questioned.
“Broad, Anderson, and Robinson are exceptional left-handed hitters. Moeen Ali spins the ball against left-handed batters. Therefore, I would have backed Labuschagne or Smith to score. I would have picked them first and second to score the most runs for Australia in this Test, but they’ve been dismissed for fewer than 40.”
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