ARCHER WELCOME GIVES MARNUS LIFT
CRICKET: Marnus Labuschagne was facing some ferocious work from Australia’s extra-fast bowlers in the nets before the final day at Lord’s when he was told he would be Test cricket’s first concussion substitute.
It proved the perfect preparation for what he faced when he walked to the middle of the famous ground with England firebrand Jofra Archer in the middle of a spell which could have propelled his team to victory.
With his team perched in a perilous position at 2-19, Labuschagne didn’t have to wait long to feel the real heat of his first Ashes battle either as a 145kmh thunderbolt smashed into the grille of his helmet second ball.
It was a moment the 25-year-old Queenslander will never forget, but he shook it off and fought his way to an innings of 57 which was crucial in saving the second Test for Australia.
“It got me flush but it was just ‘get up and get on with it’,” Labuschagne said of his Ashes introduction.
“It got me quite flush in the grille so it took most of the blow. You get up and try and act cool. Then it was just about trying to refocus and make sure you’re watching that ball again.’’
The concussion sub needed his own concussion test after taking the blow, but he shook it off quickly, even answering questions from team doctor Richard Saw before they were asked.
“I was like “look I know where I am, I know what Test it is, I’m on 0 and it was a fast bouncer”,” Labuschagne said.
Coming a day after the blow which felled Steve Smith, Labuschange said the blow actually got him going.
“What it does do is it makes you switch on. It means there is no mucking around. You’re ... trying to work as hard as you can to see that ball as early as you can,” he said. — Russell Gould SHORT BUT SWEET: Will Power after his win at Pocono Raceway. NETBALL: Queensland Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke has called for changes to Super Netball, saying there needs to be more duty of care towards players.
Jencke wants two extra players to be added to team squads in 2020, believing the number of injuries affecting teams this year is due to the length of the season.
The Firebirds, who recorded their first win of the season in the penultimate round on Sunday against the West Coast Fever, have been hardest hit.
“I still think there should be 12 players and not 10 because we have a duty of care towards the players. I'd like to see that changed,” Jencke said. GOLF: Three Australian golfers have secured spots on the International team for December’s Presidents Cup contest in Melbourne but former world No.1 Jason Day is not among them.
The top-eight automatic qualifiers for the International and American teams were finalised yesterday after the US PGA Tour’s BMW Championship and Day missed out.
Day however seems certain to secure one of four captain’s picks to face off against a Tiger Woods-led US team at Royal Melbourne. Australian’s Adam Scott, Marc Leishman and Cameron Smith are among the eight automatic qualifiers for the International team.