'Australia can win without them performing' - Andrew McDonald unfazed by Steven Smith and Marnus Labuschagne's failure in Ashes opener

Australia humbled England in the first Test of Ashes 2023 at Edgbaston as they managed to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and won the match by two wickets. Opener Usman Khawaja was awarded Player of the Match for leading the batting charts in both innings for his team with scores of 141 and 65 to his name.

Khawaja stood firm at the crease and held one end during the game which saw both Steven Smith (16 and 6) and Marnus Labuschagne (0 and 13) depart cheaply for Australia. Reacting to the rare occurrence of both of their top batters departing cheaply, Australian head coach Andrew McDonald said that it’s a positive for the side that they still managed to win the game.

"It's very rare that Marn and Smudge miss out in the same Test match. It's an appetising thought. They will be no doubt a craving for more net sessions from Marn and Smudge. They're disappointed they missed out in this game, but I think any time the Australian cricket team can win without those two performing at high level is always a positive,” McDonald was quoted as saying by ESPNcricinfo.

The Australian head coach further said that the duo will come up with different plans for the second Test, now being well aware of how England bowlers are going to attack both.

"They'll come up with different plans, different movements. They've seen what England are going to do and how they're going to attack them, and they're probably two of the greatest problem-solvers we've had over a period of time so you would expect them to go back to the drawing board. [Batting coach] Michael Di Venuto will be part of that process. They'll come out pretty clear what they need to do next innings. But there's no issue there,” McDonald added.

Labuschagne loses number 1 rank in ICC Test Rankings after failure in first Test

Notably, Labuschagne lost the number one rank in Test batter’s rankings after the first Test with Joe Root dethroning him from the top spot. The 29-year-old Aussie has just two fifties in his last 17 innings. He has witnessed a decline in his batting average which has gone from 60.82 to 55.14. 

On the other hand, Steven Smith just scored a hundred in the World Test Championship 2023 final against India and will be eager to find his feet again in the second Test beginning on Wednesday, June 28 at Lord’s in London.