It could have been a much bigger day: Labuschagne rues lack of big scores

Marnus Labuschagne rued the lack of big runs scored by the Australian batters on the first day of the fourth Ashes Test at Old Trafford in Manchester as the visiting side finished 299 for eight at the stumps. 

As many as six batters got starts but failed to convert them into hundreds, including the number three batter himself, as he was dismissed for 51 by Moeen Ali on the first ball of the 46th over. 

In conversation with SEN Cricket, the right-hander said, "It obviously could have been a much bigger day, we had six guys get themselves in, and I think whenever you do that, one of your big guns doesn't get a big score."

"You're pretty disappointed, especially when you're talking about guys getting in the 40s and 50s, so no one has gone on to get 60 to 80 even. You add those 20 runs, and all of a sudden, it ekes out to close to 400, and that really puts a big dent in it," he added. 

Despite not batting the opposition out of the Test with a formidable total in the first innings, the 29-year-old believes anything over 300 is a good total on a surface that is not easy to bat on. 

"I think we played really well, and I probably didn't reiterate that enough. We just didn't go on. 300, I think that's a really good score so far, and there was a lot of grass on that wicket. It was quite thatchy, and it was tough to score," he concluded.