Follow UsIt was always expected that this Ashes was going to be a high-scoring affair, especially with how skipper Ben Stokes had previewed the series. Ahead of the series, Stokes insisted that England wanted ‘fast and flat’ pitches. But even that couldn’t have prepared anyone for the Ashes opener, with the Edgbaston surface being a nightmare for the bowlers.
In the aftermath of the Test, Anderson also reckoned that this pitch is a ‘kryptonite’ for him, and he would be done if the pitches stay that way. Australia’s batting coach Michael di Venuto reckoned that even the County wickets are not as flat or dead as the one in Birmingham.
"It was the flattest pitch I have ever seen, day one in particular," said Di Venuto. "The lack of movement, bounce, pace. Very slow. Even county wickets don't get that flat or dead. As the game went on the swing increased with overheads. We saw the game liven up when we had the ball for eight overs one evening. But it was a dead old pitch."
However, Australia’s batting coach did not want to ponder too much over that pitch and added that it is not in Australia’s control.
"We can't control that. We will just adapt and play to whatever is in front of us. We have no control over the pitches. Who knows what this one will be here."
Australia’s batting mainstay - Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith - had a tough outing and were spotted practising long-time ahead of the Lord’s Test. Di Venuto insisted that there certainly isn’t any ‘reading’ from their failure.
"They have had a few days off shadow-batting in their rooms. They got itchy feet. So we welcomed them down here to hit cricket balls as they both love doing. Both of those two are very similar characters. They both would have been here if they scored runs or not. I certainly wouldn't be reading anything to that other than they just love batting and trying to get better."
Labuschagne had an injury scare when he walked out with a finger blow, but the Australian batting coach reckoned that that former No.1 Test batter kept batting through out.
"He kept on batting so he must've been okay. Otherwise he would have walked out. He's got a finger that has copped a couple of knocks. I think he just got another one. He said it felt better because the blood started to flow through or something. So it makes sense if that's what you want."
"He can probably leave a couple of balls on 12th-stump line, that would be nice. Marnus is always working on his game. You have all seen him train before, he is meticulous in how he goes about his preparation. He is always fidgeting around with different things technically. That is all pretty normal for Marn."