Patience, fortune leaves Aussies in strong position

The good fortune offered England by Australia's unexpected loss of captain Pat Cummins to pandemic protocols proved shortlived as Marnus Labuschagne and David Warner combined again to put their team into a position of strength after day one of the second Vodafone Test.

Warner appeared set to complete a remarkable century having come into the game under an injury cloud with badly bruised ribs but, for the second time in as many Tests, perished in the 90s to a shot he will surely want to forget.

However, the veteran opener is now averaging almost as much from his two knocks in this campaign (94.50) as was his aggregate in five completed matches of a forgettable campaign in the UK in 2019 (95).

That was the series in which Labuschagne forged his way into Australia's Test line-up as a concussion substitute for Steve Smith, and his rise above the man he replaced in the global batting rankings was confirmed by his dogged unbeaten 95 today.

It lifted Australia to 2-221 at stumps on an eventful day, some of which played out on the field as England began strongly with the ball before it became apparent their decision not to include spinner Jack Leach meant plans to subject Australia to trial by seam instead became a procession of same.

Only all-rounder Ben Stokes, whose 13 overs comprised largely of the into-the-body tactics previously seen from New Zealand seamer Neil Wagner, offered a point of difference to his fellow right-arm quicks.

Stokes landed a stinging blow to Labuschagne's ribs, striking the Queenslander in a similar spot to where he'd been hit by coach Justin Langer executing throwdowns in the Adelaide Oval nets last night, but it only slightly subdued the right-hander who resumes tomorrow in sight of a century.

Upon reaching 43 shortly before tonight's dinner break, Labuschagne clocked up 2,000 Test runs and joined an exalted cohort in having reached that milestone for Australia in 20 or fewer Tests.

The only others to claim that honour are the incomparable Don Bradman (2798 runs at 111 in his first 20 Tests) and late-starter Michael Hussey (2120 at 85), while 27-year-old Labuschagne's career tally at day's end stood at 2054 at 64.

Not that the sixth Test hundred that looms tomorrow will have come easily, or even fluently should it arrive.

He played and missed four times in as many balls at Stuart Broad having reached 10, where he became marooned for 38 deliveries until he contrived to late cut Stokes through a vacancy between first and third slips as Joe Root threw out a despairing right mitt.

Like Warner in Brisbane, Labuschagne was also beneficiary of England's fielding frailties when – on 21 – he gloved an attempted pull to keeper Jos Buttler who leapt athletically in goalkeeper fashion but could not retain the ball in his right glove.

It was a decidedly more difficult chance than the one he had spectacularly pouched off Marcus Harris early in the innings, but it was not the last the England gloveman would muff.

And it was far from the most straightforward.

The chance Labuschagne offered on 95, when his charge to a century was quelled by the arrival of the second new pink ball, came when he wafted at James Anderson with the similar sort of angled bat coaches employ in routine catching drills.

Whether it was the glare of floodlights on the shiny new ball, or Buttler's unfamiliarity with the day-night Test format, he made a right hash of the catch that travelled chest-high into his gauntlets and promptly dribbled straight out.

And while Warner was unable to convert his reprieves into three figures at Brisbane or Adelaide, Labuschagne maximised the let-offs and walked off in lock step with Smith who is unbeaten on 18.

Warner's innings was as out-of-character as his start to the series in Brisbane, but he could claim the badly bruised ribs he carried into the game after copping a blow at the Gabba as mitigation for today's early caution.

The 35-year-old took 20 deliveries to score his first run – by which time he had survived a bellowing lbw shout from Broad's first ball and an unsuccessful review from the same bowler who had so tormented him in the previous Ashes campaign – and took 36 balls to find the boundary.

However, England had stayed true to their pre-game vow to not target Warner's injured ribs and instead zero in on his stumps in a bid to get him out rather than have him wincing.

By the time Stokes entered the attack and began firing at the left-hander's body, Warner had survived the early inquisition and was becoming increasingly comfortable.

Having reached the first drinks break on a warm afternoon with one run to his name (off 32 balls), Warner had progressed to 20 from 72 after the first session with three boundaries, the first of which was perhaps the most telling.

It came from a delivery that Chris Woakes dropped short and speared wide of Warner's off stump, which Warner crunched to the extra-cover rope with the sort of cross-bat shot he had been unable to execute without strangled cries of pain leading up to the Test.

As Labuschagne continued to find scoring difficult, Warner took up the challenge and reached his second half-century in as many innings comprising eight boundaries.

More ominous for England was the partnership the pair were forging, carrying distinct echoes of the 156-run second-wicket stand that changed the course of the series opener a week earlier.

Their union yielded 150 as runs began to flow under the full effect of Adelaide Oval's floodlights, marking the first time Australia has posted 150-plus stands for the second wicket in consecutive Ashes Tests since Ian Chappell was involved in a couple late in the 1970-71 home series.

When Warner lifted Stokes between fielders set strategically on the boundary rope behind square leg to reach 95, the look of incredulity on the bowler's face seemed to confirm the opener was destined for a remarkable and deserved century.

But next ball, presented with the sort of half-tracker he might have thrashed anywhere through the off-side field as Stokes tumbled to the pitch in his follow-through, Warner swatted it straight at his bogeyman Broad who held the catch in front of his face at extra cover.

As Broad's eyes bulged at the seasonal gift, Warner clasped a hand to his head in disbelief he had thrown away a Test ton for the second time in seven days and not even the rousing exit applause from the crowd of 32,328 (capped at 35,000) could console him as he left the field.

That ovation rose in intensity as Warner was replaced in the middle by Smith, captaining his country on home turf for the first time since the denouement of Australia's successful 2017-18 Ashes campaign in Sydney.

Only three other players – Warner, Mitchell Starc and Nathan Lyon – have been part of both of these book-ending fixtures and Smith began his innings with the studied intent of someone pursuing unfinished business.

But there are concerns elsewhere in Australia's revamped batting line-up.

Harris's past 11 Test innings – since being recalled in place of opener Cameron Bancroft during the 2019 Ashes series in the UK – have yielded 117 runs at an average of 11.70 and a best score of 38 against India at the Gabba last summer.

His stay at the crease today might have lasted nine deliveries fewer than the 28 he ended up facing for his three runs, having cannily reviewed a successful lbw shout from Broad that was deemed to be bouncing over leg stump.

But his luck ran out without adding to his total when he tried to latch on to a short ball angled down the leg side and managed only to glove a chance to Buttler who grasped a stunning catch in his right glove at full stretch.

Allowing for the fact it was the least threatening delivery Broad had sent down for the day, the breakthrough created the impression it was carefully planned given the presence of a leg slip whose only contribution to the ploy was to arrest Buttler's acrobatic tumble.

It represented a dream return for Broad who had been honoured in the team huddle prior to play starting in recognition of becoming just the 10th men's player – and the third from England – to appear in 150 Tests.

The 35-year-old bowled an inspired initial spell of four overs (1-4) in which he felt he had Warner out for the fourth time in his past six Ashes innings without scoring, but England's review was rejected when the ball was also shown to be going over the stumps.

Shortly after, Chris Woakes felt he'd claimed Warner (for one) with a delivery that skidded through and hit the opener below the front knee roll but the interminably long review that followed the not out call – using technology that had been sidelined at the Gabba – could not find definitive evidence to overrule the on-field decision.

More specifically, Warner had left so little gap between bat and pad it was impossible to decipher which point of resistance the ball had struck first, and the remarkable luck the left-hander had ridden in Brisbane looked to have travelled with him to Adelaide.

Although it was subsequently revealed Woakes's delivery had pitched outside leg stump, so the excruciating forensic examination proved as pointless as it was inconclusive.

But it represented England's last genuine shot at a wicket in an opening session where they deployed six bowlers, which was almost as many reviews as they burned (two of their allotted three) and marginally less than the total number of overs they bowled (25) at glacial pace.

Given they were fined their full match fee and surrendered five World Test Championship points for being similarly tardy with the ball in Brisbane, the advent of the pink ball seems unlikely to stop them slipping further into the red.

Vodafone Men's Ashes

Squads

Australia: Pat Cummins (c), Steve Smith (vc), Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Marcus Harris, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, Jhye Richardson, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

England: Joe Root (c), James Anderson, Jonathan Bairstow, Dom Bess, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Haseeb Hameed, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Dawid Malan, Craig Overton, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Ben Stokes, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

Schedule

First Test: Australia won by nine wickets

Second Test: December 16-20, Adelaide Oval

Third Test: December 26-30, MCG

Fourth Test: January 5-9, SCG

Fifth Test: January 14-18, Blundstone Arena